* Claims new price doesn’t reflect market realities
There are indications that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited may still increase the pump price of petrol beyond the current N855/litre if the statements credited to its Executive Vice-President, downstream, Adedapo Segun, are anything to go by.
The state oil company, on Tuesday, raised the pump price of petrol to N855/litre in several parts of the country.
However, in Abuja and other states, the product sells for between N897 and N905/litre.
Segun, who featured in Arise TV’s programme, “Morning,Show” on Thursday, claimed that the new price does not reflect market realities.
He said with the price still below the landing cost of N1,200, Nigeria should move towards market-reflective prices to promote competition.
“What I can tell you simply is that the pump price today is still not market reflecting. And so, if we are, and we should be moving towards market reflective pump prices, so the competition can kick in,” Segun stated.
“NNPC is the sole provider of PMS in the country today and that is abnormal, we should have a situation where everyone who is in the business is able to bring in PMS and sell. And the consumers get the best situation.”
He pointed out that NNPC is working to stop diversion of petrol.
“We are doing our best to ensure that there are no diversions. When you have a price change situation, typically it takes a few days for all of the stations to recalibrate their meters. So that’s basically the situation we are in now,” the NNPC official added.
“I expect that this will fizzle out within the next few days as more stations calibrate and begin to sell.”
Commenting on the debt owed to suppliers, Segun said the debt has not affected the relationship between NNPC and the suppliers.
He assured that the debt would be settled in due time.
“I can assure you that we have a good relationship with our suppliers. And as we speak, we don’t have a problem with the supplies coming in.
“Yes, we do have a challenge with payments. And that’s largely due to the fact that there are some effects of liquidity, as it’s obvious. And that is the challenge as much as we can, we are making payments to them.
“And talking about the debts, I wouldn’t want to go into that issue. But yes, there is a debt. There may have been a denial of the exact amount that was posted in the media. It wasn’t a correct amount, so maybe that was a denial. But yes, there is a debt.
“It’s not news to anyone. But we are doing all we can to make sure that we retain the confidence of our suppliers. And I can assure you that our suppliers have confidence in our ability to pay, ” the official concluded.