The Presidency has disclosed that the recent battle between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and Dangote Refinery would not attract government intervention because both establishments have been operating privately in the country from government control.
The plans were disclosed by the Special Assistant to the Honourable Minister for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, on media, Nnaamaka Okafor, in a statement released on Friday. On another note, the presidency has confirmed that there currently appears to be some disagreement between the NNPC and Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
Earlier, the minister of petroleum noted that the price at which premium motor spirits would be sold could be different in different parts of the country; this was stated when he had a meeting with the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, earlier in the month. He further noted that once there is sufficiency of the product across the country, the price would stabilise in all the states in the country.
Lokpobiri further noted that the petroleum sector has fully been deregulated, which has prevented the government from fixing prices for products in the country.
The minister noted that it was important for the citizens to be aware of the new normal in the country, explaining the the power which the government had in the past to fix the price of the product had been taken away through the deregulation of the sector by the government. He noted that the product will be priced based on availability in the country.
The minister noted that presently, the product which is available in the country is sufficient enough to meet the consumption demands of the residents, which means there was a need for panic buying of the product.
In a statement released by Okafor on Friday, it was explained that while speaking during a press conference by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, noted that what the minster of petroleum said was right, explaining that both entities are currently operating independently which means the market was deregulated.
Ononuga noted that under the Petroleum Industry Act, the NNPCL acts as a private company despite the government’s ownership status.
He noted that the disagreement between Dangote and the NNPCL is their problem to settle. He explained that the PMS (Premium Motor Spirit) field, the PMS regime, has been deregulated. Dangote is a private company, while the NNPCL is a limited liability company.
Ononuga further elaborated that they are operating as a limited liability company, even if you go by the terms of the Petroleum Industry Act. NNPCL is on its own, even though the federal government, the state government, and local councils own it.
He also explained the private marketers of the product have understood the the situation, which made them state that if the price of what is sold by Dangote is too high for them, they may result in the importation of the product. He noted that the consumers will stand to benefit if there is a price war in the market; according to him, the markets can buy the product from anywhere and sell at a price that is reasonable for them if they ain’t comfortable with the NNPC.
He emphasised that the government would not engage any of parties in a virew to impose a price, explaining that Dangote as a private company is working on his own. NNPC is a limited liability company, and it has the right to fix the price of its own and so on.
He disclosed that the government had plalaned to promote the use of alternative energy solutions like Compressed Natural Gas, and CNG, which he claims offers cheaper cheaper option for consumers and subsidizing conversion costs for vehicles.
According to him, the price difference is significant, with CNG costing about N230 per litre equivalent compared to PMS at about N850 per litre.
