The group chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, has emphatically stated that there was no more subsidy on petrol in Nigeria.
He disclosed this to State House correspondents on Monday after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Recall that the National President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Festus Osifo, had on Friday claimed that the government had restored subsidy on petrol, despite the official government policy of ending the subsidy regime since May.
However, Kyari explained that the occasional queues and lower fuel prices observed in some states were not indicative of a return to fuel subsidy regime.
He said the government was recovering its full costs from the imported products.
He said: “No subsidy whatsoever. We are recovering our full cost from the products that we import. We sell to the market, we understand why the marketers are unable to import.
“We hope that they do it very quick and this are some of the interventions government is doing, there is no subsidy.”
On fuel queues in some parts of the country, Kyari said the challenges were caused by blockades on roads connecting southern depots to the northern regions of the country, leading to delayed deliveries and temporary supply gaps.
He highlighted that full deregulation of the sector had led to healthy competition among marketers, resulting in reduced fuel prices at some stations.
He said this price competition had led to some customers flocking to stations with lower prices, potentially causing panic among those unaware of the market dynamics.
Kyari reassured the public that there was an ample supply of fuel, with over 1.4 billion litres of products available, both on land and in marine storage.
He also emphasised that there were no issues with the delivery of products.
Regarding foreign exchange issues, Kyari mentioned that the government was actively working to ensure a stable foreign exchange market.
He acknowledged that the current exchange rate of around N770 to the US Dollar was part of the transition towards a more stable market, aligning prices of petroleum products with other commodities.
He said: “We have seen in very few states pockets of very low queues. Not unconnected with the road situation that we’re seeing the number of blockades on our roads crossing products from the southern depots into the northern part of the country and it takes them a much longer time than they do now.
“They have to reroute the trucks around many, many locations for them to be able to reach (their destinations) and that created delays and some supply gaps.
“But that has been filled, and we do not see any of such problems again. And secondly, because of the full deregulation that we have in this sector, marketers are now competing amongst themselves.
“So you must have noticed some fuel stations will reduced price by two Naira and three Naira, so customers will naturally run to the places where you have that reduction in prices.
“And that creates panic, because for those who don’t know why they are doing it, they will think that there’s something wrong happening, or there’s an ominous sign of scarcity or people start queuing up in the fuel stations.
“Otherwise, there is no challenge. Supply is robust. We have over 1.4 billion litres of product in our hands both marine and land. Also there are no issues around delivery of those products into the land.
“So there is no fear, nothing to bother about. But we are also happy that the market forces are now playing out and marketers are competing and of course there are a few issues we’re engaging them to resolve alongside other agencies of government and critical issues around access to foreign exchange.
“And as you all know, government is doing so much to ensure supply of forex into the market.
“We know that this FX markets will stabilise. Current I&E window is around N770. And we know that those inputs that’s already happening, the inputs of government today will crystallise and also they will come to an equilibrium position in the FX market and this is a dream of this country.
“So they will have a stable FX market, stable product market where the prices of product will also speak to prices of other commodities.
“And this is already manifesting and we think this is the economic revolution that this country needs,” Kyari stated.
