This came after weeks of petrol scarcity resurfaced across the country as long fuel queues erupted at many filling stations.
Though no official notice was seen, LEADERSHIP checks reveal that NNPC filling stations across
However, in
When contacted, the group corporate communications officer of the NNPCL, Mallam GarbaDeen Muhammad said the firm does not determine the pump price of PMS.
"Kindly find out from the NMDPRA what the approved pump price is. That should answer your question.
However, the
LEADERSHIP checks showed that there were long queues at filling stations across the Federal Capital Territory, yesterday, raising fears of yet another round of petrol scarcity in the nation's capital,
Specifically, checks around the city centre showed that most outlets operated by both major and independent marketers were shut while queues were observed at
Similar long queues were observed in
LEADERSHIP checks showed that there were long queues at filling stations across the Federal Capital Territory, yesterday, raising fears of yet another round of petrol scarcity in the nation's capital,
Queues were also noticed at NNPC Mega station as well as two stations in the Wuse area of the city.
Similar long queues were observed in
In
TechnOil at Hamadiyyah,
With these developments it appears the federal government may have commenced gradual removal of the petrol subsidy as pump price of the product simultaneously rose to above N185 per liter on Thursday.
Government had earlier announced implementation of the withdrawal in
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs
She stated: "What will be safer is for the current administration to, maybe at the beginning of the second quarter, start removing the fuel subsidy, because it's more expedient if you remove it gradually than to wait and move it all in one big swoop".
After an 18-month extension, the federal government plans to spend N3.35 trillion on petrol subsidies from January till
The extension, however, generated widespread debate on the expediency of such expenditure as it will increase the budget deficit of the FG which would be financed through additional borrowing and hence further rise in the nation's public debt which stood at N44.06 trillion as at end of
But LEADERSHIP finding yesterday showed that government has begun the subsidy withdrawal urging marketers to adjust their pumps.
However, efforts to get reactions from marketers was unsuccessful as key marketers association were considering on how much could be applicable.
Equally, leadership of Independent Depot Owners were not ready to discuss the matter.
However, a competent source in the industry with knowledge of government new directive to marketers confirmed the development to our Correspondent.
Our source said, "Marketers have been officially directed to change pump price of petrol. Go to stations operated by major marketers you will confirm what I have told you. But I think it shouldn't be above N185 a liter. I can tell you too that depot owners are not expected to raise their prices but they have been asked to recover their costs by adjusting their prices."
The cost of fuel pump increased from N87 per litre as of
However, in
This unfortunately hit back at the landing cost of petrol, which rose steeply, and the country not willing to hike the pump price of the commodity again, soon returned to subsidising the product.
Consequently, the fuel subsidy gulped N306.92bn in 2015, and in 2021, the NNPC said fuel subsidy gulped N1.43trillion, indicating that the cost of fuel subsidy rose by 365.92 per cent within the six-year period.
The NNPC called the subsidy payments under-recovery and deducted it from the proceeds of its domestic crude oil sales, before making remittances to the Federation Account.
However, the
Although the Federal Government had planned to eliminate the fuel subsidy by
Also, the NNPC has said a total of N4tn from the Federal Government is required to fund the fuel subsidy in 2022.
According to the NNPC, fuel subsidy gulped N675.93bn in the first quarter of 2022.
The NNPC informed that fuel subsidy gulped N210.38bn, N219.78bn, and N245.77bn in January, February, and
Copyright Leadership. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com)., source