The Federal Government has been cautioned by Joseph Obele, Chairman of the Rivers State Chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), on the measures that need be taken to reduce the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), often known as petrol, across the nation.
The marketer predicts that the price of petrol would fall to less than 200 per litre if the government can restart the nation’s refineries.
Remember that President Bola Tinubu recently said that the Port-Harcourt refinery, which is undergoing repair, would be operational by the end of this year. In addition, the Warri refinery is expected to begin operations by the first quarter of 2024.
“Fuel costs will continue to rise owing to global factors until our nation-owned refineries are operational. Nigerians would purchase petrol for less than N200 per litre once our refineries are operational, Obele told Saturday Punch.
This occurs at a time when the economy is already under pressure due to Tinubu’s decision to stop the gasoline subsidy program, which has prompted a sharp increase in fuel costs.
On Friday, August 25, 2023, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), visited the Port Harcourt plant and reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to restarting the plant.
Obele expressed worry that importers had continued to be negatively impacted by the FX shortage and said that if the government did not provide a temporary fix, the price of the goods would continue to rise.
“Importers of petroleum products have found it difficult to continue their importations due to the lack of dollars. The fuel delivery network has been in turmoil for approximately two weeks. This is clear on the marketers’ NNPC purchase page, according to the marketer.
