The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of
Nigeria (PENGASSAN) says premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol,
should be between N700 and N750 per litre at retail stations.
Speaking during a press conference in Abuja on Monday,
Festus Osifo, president of PENGASSAN, said petroleum marketers are exploiting
Nigerians through inflated petrol prices.
“If you go online and check the PLAT cost per cubic metre of
PMS, convert that to litres and then to our naira, you will see that with crude
at around $60 per barrel, petrol should be retailing between N700 and N750 per
litre,” he said.
Osifo also urged the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to enforce a transparent pump pricing template to prevent exploitation.
He said the call became necessary, seeing that petroleum
marketers have continued to exploit Nigerians through inflated fuel prices,
even with the decrease in the price of crude oil.
According to the association’s president, despite crude oil
selling for $60 per barrel, petrol pump prices remained as high as between N850
and N900 per litre, leaving consumers at a loss.
“The unjustifiable pricing is due to NMDPRA not being able
to carry out its oversight duties effectively,” he said.
“It is the function of the regulator to ensure that
Nigerians are not exploited.
“So we call on NMDPRA to have a platform where they can
publish what the price ranges should be.
“So, we call on them to be allowed to carry out that
responsibility. We call on them to do everything possible to ensure that
Nigerians are not exploited.
“If this trend continues, it means that if the crude price
comes down to $50 per barrel, we will not see appreciable gains.”
‘RECURRING SHUTDOWNS OF NIGERIA’S REFINERIES DUE TO
POLITICAL MOTIVES’
Osifo further criticised the recurring shutdowns of
Nigeria’s state-owned refineries, saying the shutdowns are driven more by
political motives than operational challenges.
He said the inefficiencies plaguing Nigeria’s refineries,
especially the Port Harcourt refinery, may not be due to technical shortcomings
but stem largely from political interference.
Osifo noted that despite billions of naira totalling $2.5
billion sunk into rehabilitation efforts over the years, the nation’s
refineries have remained largely unproductive, with shutdowns frequently
occurring under questionable circumstances.
He also reiterated the call on the federal government to
adopt PENGASSAN’s recommendations made 15 years ago.
According to Osifo, the recommendations of the NLNG model,
where the government holds 49 percent and private investors hold 51 percent
should be adopted.
“We all understand the politics that comes in when it comes
to national assets management,” he said.
“That is why in the past 15 years or more, we have called on
the government consistently to apply the NLNG model in the management of the
refineries because the model works.”
On the upstream sector, Osifo welcomed the recent executive
order aimed at reducing operational costs.
He highlighted the burden placed on companies by the need to
independently secure oil installations due to insecurity.
Osifo added that the union had reached a resolution with
Sterling Oil Company following disputes over expatriate staff hiring practices.
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