Subsidy: Petrol price will come down, says NNPC

The Group Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, on Thursday, allayed the fear of Nigerians on the rising prices of Premium Motor Spirit, known better as petrol across the country.

The NNPC boss predicted they will be a price reduction in the coming days as competition among major players in the oil sector would force down the price of petrol as against the upward trends that have caused panic in the country.

Recall queues returned to fuel stations across the country following the recent increase in the petrol pump price occasioned by the removal of petroleum subsidy.

Earlier on Wednesday, the NNPC said it had adjusted the pump price of petrol to reflect the market realities. The agency, however, failed to state the new prices of petrol.

However, several retail outlets sold the product for as high as N600 and N800 in Lagos, Abuja, Ogun and some other states.

Also, talks between the Federal Government and organised labour over the removal of fuel subsidy ended in a deadlock on Wednesday as they failed to reach a consensus following the hike in petrol pump prices to over N700 from N195 per litre by oil marketers.

Speaking on Thursday in an interview on Arise TV’s Morning Show, Kyari said the removal of subsidy would allow new entrants into the market, a move he said, would aid competition and phase out monopoly.

This, he claimed, would ensure healthy competition which would ultimately lead to a downward review of pump prices of petroleum across the country.

He said, “The beauty of this (subsidy removal) is that there will be new entrants (into the market) because oil marketing companies’ reluctance to come into the market all along is the very fact of the subsidy regime that is in place.