The Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, has dashed the hopes of millions of Nigerians expecting a reduction in the price of petrol when the country’s refineries begin operation.
Kyari, who appeared before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Appropriations for the NNPCL 2024 budget defence on Friday, said reduction in fuel prices is not the main objective of the refineries.
While responding to questions from lawmakers on the potential drop in the pump price of petrol due to the expected functionality of refineries, the NNPCL chief stressed that though it would be possible to have price reduction, it is not the main objective of the refineries.
He said the company has contributed N4.45 trillion as direct revenue through a combination of taxes, royalties and dividends, and paid N406 billion as dividends to the federation account in July.
The Chairman of the Senate Appropriation Committee, Solomon Adeola, on Wednesday, directed Kyari and the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to appear before the committee in 24 hours.
They were required to present the list of all individual companies operating with Oil Mining Leases (OML) in Nigeria as well as the total production output approved daily.
The lawmaker expressed concerns that some of the revenues required to drive the 2024 budget were attributed to the NNPCL.