The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) has increased the price of petrol across the country from Wednesday as Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the NNPCL, blamed market forces for the new hike in price of petrol. He gave the explanation while speaking to journalists after meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima in his office. He said the jump observed at fuel stations was as a result of the market regulating itself. Many petrol stations in Lagos now sell at N568 to N614 per litre against the old price template of N488 per litre in Lagos.
There are reports that petrol stations outside Lagos sell at higher prices. In Kwara State petrol is now being sold for between N650 and N680 per litre. Some petrol stations in Lagos were just adjusting their meters, while some stations were shut to customers due to the unexpected price adjustment, NNPC filling stations visited are selling at the officially approved price of N568 per litre. However, many of the privately owned stations are selling at the recommended price. Kyari said the increase was not based on a short supply of petrol, explaining that pricing will fluctuate from time to time depending on activities at the international market. “I don’t have the details this moment. We have the marketing wing of our company. They adjust prices depending on the market realities. This is really what is happening; this is the meaning of making sure that market regulate itself so that prices will go up and sometimes they will come down also.
“This is what we have seen and in reality this is what the market works. There is no supply issue completely. When you go to the market, you buy the product; you come to the market you sell it the prevailing market prices. Nothing to do with supply. We don’t have supply issues. There is robust supply. We have over 32 days of supply in the country. What I know is that the market forces will regulate the market. Prices will go down sometimes; sometimes it will go up, but there will be stability of supply and I’m also assuring Nigerians that this is the best way to go forward so that we can adjust prices when market forces come to play. I don’t have the details this moment, but I know that our marketing wing acts just like every other company in this business. I know that a number of companies have imported petroleum products today. So, many of them are on line. I’m sure my colleague would confirm this. Market forces have started to play; people have started having confidence in the market. Private sector people are importing products, but there is no way they can recover their cost if they cannot take market reflective cost,” he said.
