he Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Monday, debunked
reports that the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as
petrol has been reduced to N57 per liter.
The NNPC, in a statement in Abuja, described the report as false and
advised members of the public to ignore such tales noting that the price
of petrol remains N87 per litre.
The NNPC also promised to work with other downstream petroleum sector
stakeholders to eliminate obstacles to the free flow in supply of
petroleum products across the country.
To this end, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, Group Managing Director of the NNPC,
has promised to work with other relevant Federal Government agencies to
fast track the payment of the outstanding subsidy claims to oil
marketers.
In the interim, Kachikwu promised to arrange for a meeting with the
relevant creditors (bankers) to ease off pressure on marketers and
extend the credit lines.
He added that several financing mechanism are being explored to offset the commitment to oil marketers.
He hinted at the possibility of exploring the monthly payment option,
stating that the Federal Government might, in the future, explore some
creative means to prevent backlogs.
The NNPC also stated that the meeting held in its office in Abuja
yesterday, with members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of
Nigeria, MOMAN alongside the Depot and Petroleum Products Association,
DAPPMA, was a major step towards ensuring zero fuel queues throughout
the country ahead of the forthcoming yuletide and beyond.
Addressing the downstream stakeholders at the meeting, Mr. Ibe
Kachikwu, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, stated that the issue of
uninterrupted supply and distribution of petroleum products across the
country is of utmost importance to the present administration.
He noted that the Federal Government is willing to do everything
possible to ensure that members of the public do not go through any form
of hardship in accessing petroleum products particularly PMS.
Speaking on behalf of major oil marketers, Femi Olawore, Secretary
General, MOMAN, commended Kachikwu for his support and pledged the
readiness of the marketers to work assiduously with the Federal
Government in ensuring zero fuel scarcity across the nation in the forth
coming yuletide and even beyond.
Olawore called on Kachikwu to facilitate the institution of a special
committee to verify and authenticate the current national PMS
consumption figure of 40 million litres per day.
Also, Mr. Dapo Abiodun, Chairman of DAPPMA commended the NNPC for
what he termed improved services at various PPMC product loading
facilities and urged the new Management of the company to sustain the
tempo.
