TheCable

The federal government says it has not raised the pump price of premium motor spirit (PMS), also called petrol, above the regulated price. 

Timipre Sylva, minister of state for petroleum resources, said this at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) stakeholders’ consultation forum on regulations, held on Monday in Abuja.

While the regulated pump price of the product is N165 a litre, some filling stations have been selling as high as N180 a litre. 

Despite this, petrol subsidy claims climbed to N2.6 trillion in the first half of 2022 — above crude oil sale receipts from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited.

“Well, I can tell you authoritatively that we have not deregulated. The government is still subsidising, if there are increases in the price, it is not from the government, it is probably from the marketers,” he said. 

“But, of course, I will talk to the NMDPRA’s chief executive to ensure that they regulate the prices. But this is not from the government because we have not deregulated.”

Meanwhile, the Association of Distributors and Transporters of Petroleum Products (ADITOP) had expressed dissatisfaction over unpaid bridging claims owed to its members by the NMDPRA. 

Bridging claims is the cost of hauling petroleum products from refineries and depots to fuel stations.

“Diesel is very costly, we find it difficult to fuel our trucks to transport petroleum products to different parts of the country,” it said.