The Federal Government has clarified its role in determining the price of fuel in the country.
According to the Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, the government is no longer involved in setting fuel prices.
Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the Petroleum Industry Stakeholders Forum in Abuja, Lokpobiri explained that the downstream sector is now fully deregulated.
He said, “The whole essence of deregulation is for price to find its level. Before now you will agree with me that every day you are hearing negative news about petrol subsidies. Today, you journalists have no negative news about petrol subsidies because it is completely regulated, and the price will find its level.
“As oil price goes up, petrol price will go up, and as oil price comes down, the price will come up. During the Christmas season, I was in Bayelsa, and I tried to go around different filling stations. Some filling stations were selling N1,020, others were selling N999, while others were selling N1,015.
“What we are concerned about, and I’ve always had that discussion with you, with the Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, is that the government is more interested in quality control. The government is more interested in availability, and what the government is particularly interested in is the dispensation of the right quantity.
“If you are buying 10 litres of PMS, let it be that you are not short-changed by the retail filling station. That is where we have issues. And once there is competition, people have a choice, and that’s why you don’t see any queues”.
The minister’s comments come amid concerns over a potential increase in fuel prices. The cost of Brent crude, the global benchmark for crude oil, has recently crossed $80 per barrel. However, marketers have allayed fears of an imminent price hike, stating that any changes will not be immediate.
