PETROAN: Petrol pump prices during naira-for-crude deal were not honest

The Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) says the retail prices of petrol, affected by constant reductions during the naira-for-crude deal, “were not honest”.

On Wednesday, the federal government said the naira-for-crude deal will continue after the first phase ended on March 31.

Following the suspension of the deal, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited as well as other filling stations increased the price of petrol at their retail outlets.

The development was contrary to the frequent price reductions when the deal was in force.

Speaking to TheCable on Wednesday, Billy Gillis-Harris, president of PETROAN, said the constant drop in petrol prices by NNPC and Dangote refinery meant that retailers had to reduce their prices even though they bought the product at higher rates.

Therefore, he called on the federal government to ensure that subsequent phases of the deal are “driven by the real factors of what the economy and environment dictates”.

“The prices of petrol that were being bandied about in the market were not honest,” he said.

Gillis-Harris also called on the authorities to continue mediation regarding the naira-for-crude deal and “ensure that there is fair pricing and there is no untoward practice”.

“As businessmen, we need to also ensure that we are not taking advantage of the system to create difficulties for Nigerians. So at every level, there should be some level of control,” he said.

Gillis-Harris said the naira-for-crude deal is beneficial to the country.

“But while the deal was going on, we were still buying some part of our products in dollars. So, it is nothing new really to us that Dangote refinery is now selling in dollars,” the PETROAN president said.

‘NAIRA-FOR-CRUDE DEAL WILL STABILISE NAIRA, LOWER CRUDE OIL PRICE’

On his part, Eche Idoko, national publicity secretary of the Crude Oil Refinery-owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), said the continuation of the naira-for-crude deal would stabilise the local currency and ensure Nigerians buy cheaper petroleum products.

While petrol prices increased following the suspension of the deal, the value of the naira also depreciated against the dollar.

Idoko said developments were tied to the deal’s temporary stoppage.

“The idea of selling crude in naira is to achieve two things: ease the pressure on the naira and deliver cheaper petroleum products for Nigerians. If we are judging by these things, I think it is a no-brainer to say that the government has to continue in the naira-for-crude policy,” he said.

“But a lot of people have made some arguments to the contrary, and I am beginning to wonder where they got their theories from.

“You can see that the naira has begun to lose ground against the dollar. You can see that the dollar is appreciating against the naira once more because the demand for FX is increasing.”

Idoko said if negotiations regarding the deal are not finalised swiftly, the naira may continue to depreciate as “a lot of refineries have not even started buying new shipments of crude”.

“A lot of our refineries do not even have crude stowage. So, once the crude comes and we need to pay for these crudes in dollar, what do we do? We go back to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to buy dollars,” Idoko said.

The publicity secretary said the price of petrol dropped to about N800 during the first phase of the deal, adding that “it had tendencies of dropping further”.

“That was directly as a result of selling crude in naira,” he said.

Backing the federal government on the deal, Idoko said “we would want the naira for crude to continue”.