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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.
A Coalition of civil society organisations has urged the Federal Government to take proactive steps towards addressing the persistent gas eruptions in Bille, Rivers.
The coalition, made up of the People’s Assembly and Bille Working Group, made the call in an open letter addressed to President Bola Tinubu, and read to journalists in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
Reading the letter, the coalition’s convener, Dr Isaac Osuoka, said that the persistent gas eruption in Bille had led to serious environmental and public health challenges.
Osuoka, also the Executive Director, Social Action, urged Tinubu to establish a presidential task force to investigate and contain the gas leak in Bille.
He also called for the immediate relocation of residents to safe shelters, provision of clean water, food and healthcare services.
Dr Emem Okon, the Executive Director, Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, stated that gas had been bubbling from the ground, creeks, boreholes and hand-dug wells in the community since October 2025.
Okon said that the gas had triggered several fires and explosions, and that residents of the community had reported respiratory problems, vomiting and other illnesses associated with exposure to the emissions.
According to her, preliminary investigations by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) have yet to identify the source of the gas.
Mr Kentebe Ebiaridor, the Coordinator, Oilwatch International, called for the publication of results from preliminary soil and water tests conducted in Bille for the residents to know the nature and extent of the contamination.
Ebiaridor urged the Federal Government to deploy medical teams to screen and treat affected residents, and immediately commence an independent study on the health impacts of the leak.
He further called for the suspension of oil and gas operations around OML 18 and 24 until the source of the gas leak was identified and the affected areas declared safe.
Ebiaridor urged the government to hold current and former operators of the oil leases accountable for environmental damage on the community.
Another speaker, Dr Bieye Briggs, urged the National Assembly to fast-track the NOSDRA Amendment Bill, 2025 to provide the agency with statutory funding and stronger enforcement powers.
Briggs urged the Federal Government to activate the regional Spill Command Centre, and make the Upstream Remediation Fund accessible for the Bille crisis and other affected communities in the Niger Delta.
The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has banned drone operations and fireworks in Uyo and announced temporary traffic restrictions ahead of President Bola Tinubu’s visit to the State today.
The state Commissioner of Police, Baba Mohammed Azare, announced the measures yesterday while briefing journalists at the Police Headquarters in Ikot Akpan Abia, Uyo.
He said the restrictions were part of security arrangements to maintain public order, protect strategic locations and ensure the smooth movement of the President’s convoy during his engagements.
“There will be total restriction on the operation and flying of drones within Uyo metropolis throughout the period of the visit. Members of the public, drone operators and service providers are advised to strictly comply with the directive,” he said.
The police commissioner also announced a ban on fireworks, knockouts and other explosive sound-producing devices within the state capital during the visit.
He said the measure would prevent panic and allow security personnel to respond effectively to genuine security threats.
The command also announced temporary restrictions on public access to designated routes and locations in Uyo to facilitate the movement of the presidential convoy.
The affected areas are Airport Road, Shelter Afrique Junction, Oron Road, Nung Oku Junction, Mbierebe Junction and Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.
“Motorists are urged to plan their journeys, exercise patience and cooperate with traffic and security personnel deployed along the corridors.
“Members of the public are advised to avoid the routes during the restriction and use alternative routes,” Azare said.
He also urged residents to plan their journeys, exercise patience and cooperate with traffic and security personnel deployed along the affected corridors.
The commissioner said the command, working with other security agencies, had put in place security arrangements to ensure a peaceful and hitch-free visit.
He appealed to residents to understand that the temporary restrictions were necessary security measures and not intended to cause hardship.
Azare urged members of the public to remain law-abiding, avoid restricted areas and report suspicious movements to the nearest police station or through police emergency channels.
Tinubu’s visit to Akwa Ibom is a working visit during which he is expected to inaugurate major infrastructure projects executed by Governor Umo Eno’s administration under its ARISE Agenda. The projects cut across aviation, road infrastructure, tourism, healthcare, land administration and security.
Among the projects scheduled for inauguration are the international terminal building and airport hospital at Victor Attah International Airport, Aviation Village, ARISE Palm Resort, the 14.5-kilometre Nsit Atai–Okobo Road, Ring Road 3, the Command and Control Centre and the AkwaGIS building.
The state government had earlier announced plans for the President to inaugurate projects as part of activities marking Akwa Ibom’s 39th anniversary in September.
The airport projects are particularly significant to the state’s ambition to expand aviation, tourism and investment.
The international terminal is expected to strengthen the airport’s capacity to handle international operations, while the Aviation Village is intended to provide accommodation for aviation workers. The airport hospital is also among the facilities lined up for inauguration.
The road projects are also expected to improve connectivity. The 14.5-kilometre Nsit Atai–Okobo Road links communities in the two local government areas, while Ring Road 3 is designed to improve movement within Uyo and ease pressure on existing roads. The Command and Control Centre, meanwhile, is intended to strengthen security surveillance and coordination in the State.
The Rivers State Ministry of Culture and Tourism has floated a culture content platform in collaboration with digital television group, Multichoice.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Mr. Freddy Ndigbara, disclosed this after a meeting with MultiChoice Head of Content Acquisition, Don Dotun Ojon, in Port Harcourt.
He assured that content entrepreneurs and film makers would enjoy the platform by promoting culture and other contents to sell the states tourism potentials.
He said MultiChoice M-net was now open to increase its patronage for content shots on locations in Rivers State, describing the State as one that has numerous potentials for film tourism.
“We were privileged to have Don Ojon with us at the Rivers International Film Festival (RIFF) at the weekend in Bonny and he saw, first hand, the numerous sites and opportunities that are open to creatives in the State. After that, we felt it was important to deepen the conversation and he obliged. This is a cheering news for the sector in the State,” he said.
Ndigbara stated that “Rivers State has many more untold stories to tell, many more contents to reel out and the assurances from the M-net Acquisition Manager is an indication that the industry in the state will soon enjoy a new lease of life”.
The Permanent Secretary thanked Ojon for the visit and assured that creatives in the State would grap this opportunity and show the world that Rivers State is a major hub for film tourism in Nigeria.
On his part, Ojon said the visit was to discuss on ways of promoting tourism in the State using creatives and film.
Ojon said although the company has recently been acquired by canal+ France and is undergoing restructuring, he would promote the chances of Rivers State to host the MultiChoice talent factory in the State.
With Asaba, capital of Delta State, being saturated, Ojon said the next port is Rivers State, which he said is capable of building fresh crop of creatives, new locations, new story lines and concepts.
He, therefore, called for collaboration from stakeholders in the State.
Kevin Nengia
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