News
FG Plans Review Of Petrol Pricing Template
The Federal Government has said it would further review its pricing template for petrol with the aim of removing several multi-layered charges and costs that affect the pump price of petrol at service stations across the country.
The government also said it would continue to work with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to find ways of providing subsidised foreign exchange interventions for oil marketers in the country.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, stated at the weekend in a podcast he shared in his social media accounts. The podcast, obtained by newsmen, was centred on the challenges of the country’s downstream petroleum sector and the government’s plans to overcome them.
Kachikwu stated in the podcast that, at the moment, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was importing almost all the petrol used in the country, a responsibility he stated the corporation was undertaking at a huge cost.
According to him, marketers in the country were no longer importing petroleum products because of the unfavourable business fundamentals which had been influenced by the rising prices of crude oil.
“Downstream continues to be an area that has numerous challenges, that is why throwing ideas on them will continue to be something that any minister or chief executive of NNPC will continue to focus on,” said Kachikwu.
He further stated: “The environment has since changed, when we did all these, pricing for crude was more in the $25 to $30 per barrel, today it is in excess of $54, which is fantastic because it means that our revenue stream is improving.
“But, it is a twin window, whenever the price of crude goes up, obviously the price of refined petrol goes up and we begin to have systemic challenge in terms of the pricing on the local base, so that gap has begun to return and today what you find is that the NNPC continues to import massively on behalf of the Federal Government. It has gone back to about 90-95 per cent for the whole country and therefore its books are absorbing some of the cost implications of this.”
According to him: “The second is that once this happens the marketers begin to shift backwards, participation by individual marketers to help us continue the normal business and marketing cycle that should be what you expect is no longer existing. Most of them are not importing.”
Speaking on plans to stem the development, Kachikwu stated: “One of the things we are doing is that we are looking at our existing templating position, and what we are doing with that is first addressing some of the soft end of things that affect pricing.
“We are removing too many multi-layered charges on importation, we are working with the ministry of transport to reduce those to what was initially approve by the president, and as such, we should take away a good chunk of the expenses. We are working to see how the CBN can provide us with a fairly subsidised FX for products priced in dollars.”
Though he did not expressly disclose this, the minister however, hinted that the government might begin to wind down the operations of the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) and transfer its bridging responsibilities to oil marketers.
According to him, “We are trying to see how over a period of time, marketers will take over the PEF responsibilities of funding trucking and keeping prices stable across the country.”
He said in the long run, the NNPC would have to reduce its presence in the country’s petroleum downstream sector because of the cost on its books. The corporation, he noted, would have to begin to operate as a profit entity.
Speaking on product availability in the country, Kachikwu assured that, “There isn’t fuel scarcity, we are not short of products, but yet the downstream and midstream sectors continue to remain challenged. And what we are going to do is to analyse what we have done so far and begin to throw solutions to some of these challenges.”
He also explained that since the introduction of pricing modulation, the country has been able to drop its daily products consumption from about 50 million litres to 37 million litres.
“We had issues of pricing efficiency and governance, for at that time the prices we were selling at were so ridiculously below what the sustainable prices are. And you find a situation where basically marketers disappeared from the industry. So, we had massive shortages, queues and everything seem to be breaking down. We’ve since come out from that.
“First we’ve moved from a fully subsidy-based sector to a partially liberalised sector. I say partially because we haven’t quite achieved the template to have a fully liberalised sector. What that has done for us is that it had reduced consumption from 50 million litres to 37 million litres a day,” he stated.
The Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has begun the celebration of Nigeria’s 65th Independence anniversary with a Juma’at service where prayers were offered for the progress of the state and Nigeria.
Governor Fubara, who advocated for peace and unity of Nigeria during the prayers on Friday at the Rivers State Central Mosque, Port Harcourt, indicated that without peace, the accelerated development of Nigeria will remain in a limbo.
Governor Fubara, who was represented by Alhaji Abdurrazaq Diepriye, therefore urged citizens to remain patriotic.
According to him, “Allah has brought us this far. Without peace, we can not have progress and economic development. I call on all citizens irrespective of creed or tribe to remain patriotic.”
He thanked President Bola Tinubu for restoring peace in Rivers State while also using the forum to appreciate security agencies for their relentless effort in upholding the peace and unity of Rivers State and Nigeria.
The Chief Imam of Rivers State Central Mosque, Imam Ibrahim Yaloo, admonished Moslem faithful to always speak the truth, adding that those who obey Allah will be directed to good deeds and their sins forgiven.
Prayers were offered for Rivers State and Nigeria.
Other activities to mark the 65th Independence anniversary in the state include an Inter-denominational Church Thanksgiving Service on Sunday, 28th September and Parade Ceremony on Wednesday, 1st October.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima departed New York on Sunday after representing President Bola Tinubu at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
In a statement released on Sunday by the VP media aide, Stanley Nkwocha, the Vice President is now headed to Germany, where he will hold strategic meetings with officials of Deutsche Bank.
The statement read, “Vice President Kashim Shettima has departed New York, United States, after successfully representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
“During his participation at UNGA 80, VP Shettima secured UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ commendation for Nigeria’s bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat.
“He also showcased Nigeria’s $200 billion energy transition opportunity to global investors and strengthened strategic partnerships with the UK on trade, defence, and migration issues.”
Nkwocha added that the VP delivered Tinubu’s national statement, calling for UN reforms and a permanent seat for Nigeria at the UN Security Council, and “demanded Africa’s control over its $700 billion mineral wealth, and digital inclusion initiatives.”
“He also engaged with the Gates Foundation on healthcare and education expansion, positioning Nigeria as the natural hub for the African Continental Free Trade Area’s $3.4 trillion market.
“VP Shettima was seen off at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, by cabinet Ministers who were part of the UNGA 80 delegation and Nigerian Mission officials.”
The aide noted that Shettima will return to Nigeria immediately after his engagements in Germany.
The Tide source recalls that the VP departed Abuja, yesterday.
He led other Nigerian officials at the Assembly.
As part of Nigeria’s 65th Independence anniversary celebration, the Federal Government held a special thanksgiving service on Sunday at the National Ecumenical Centre in Abuja to offer prayers and give thanks for the nation.
The event drew top government officials and security chiefs, including Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, as well as their spouses.
Other notable guests included Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Wale Edun, former Plateau State Governor, Senator Simon Lalong, and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, who led the service chiefs in attendance.
Service chiefs present included the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Emmanuel Ogala, Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Mrs Kemi Nandap and Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Sylvester Nwakuche, among others.00
The service came days after the government unveiled the official theme and some of the activities slated for the 2025 Independence celebrations.
This year’s anniversary is tagged “Nigeria @ 65: All Hands on Deck for a Greater Nation,” as announced by the Director of Information and Public Relations at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Segun Imohiosen, in a statement on Wednesday.
“As part of activities to mark the 65th Independence Anniversary, the Juma’at Prayer and the Inter-Denominational Church Service will be held on Friday, 26th September at 1 pm and Sunday, 28th September at 10 am respectively, as well as the World Press Conference on Monday, 29th September at 10 am,” he said.
The Tide source had earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu, alongside former Heads of State, Yakubu Gowon, Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, is expected as a special guest at a national discourse convened by the Island Club, Lagos, to mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary.
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