The National President of NAGOSA, Mr. Kenneth Korie, shared this outlook during the joint inauguration of the Akwa Ibom State chapters of both organizations in Uyo.

Korie, who is also the Managing Director of Umpire Energy, attributed the current hike in product prices to importation and highlighted the adverse impact on consumers and marketers alike.

He expressed confidence that the prices would significantly decrease once the refineries, especially the Port Harcourt Refinery, become operational in the near future.

“There is hope that the price of fuel and other petroleum products will come down. The Group Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation has given assurance concerning that before the National Assembly,” said Korie.

He acknowledged the challenges faced by some retail outlets in staying afloat due to the high cost of products.

Korie further stated, “I’m 100% sure that there will be a serious reduction in the price of petroleum products as soon as our four refineries come up – the Dangote Refinery, Port Harcourt Refinery, Warri Refinery and Kaduna Refinery. But we should not expect the price to come down like it was before, because of the high exchange rate, but it will be a bit lower than what is it now.”

He urged the newly inaugurated state council of NAGOSA to crack down on adulterated products and product hoarding.

Dr. Billy Harry, the National President of PETROAN, emphasized collaboration with NAGOSA and other relevant bodies to minimize the importation of petroleum products.

He made this projection while addressing the PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Summit 2023 in Abuja.

Kyari emphasized that, as a resource-dependent nation, Nigeria should not continue exporting 100 percent of its crude oil production, as it currently does.

He stated, “Today, we export 100 per cent of our productions, no resource-dependent country does this and that is why we must deliver on our mandate. I don’t want to speak about it; when it is done, you will see it.”

The NNPC boss refrained from providing specific details but noted, “I strongly believe now, without giving you a date so that people don’t get angry again, but in 2024, this country will become a net exporter of petroleum products.”

He explained that this transformation would mean Nigeria having sufficient volumes of petroleum products domestically, with the ability to export surplus.

However, Kyari clarified that refining crude oil within the country would not necessarily reduce the local price of petrol, as it is influenced by international prices.

He also highlighted ongoing efforts to revive government-owned refineries and the expected contributions of projects like the Dangote Refinery, which will contribute significantly to increasing domestic refining capacity.

Kyari further elaborated on the growing adoption of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as an alternative fuel source, which is already happening in the country.

He mentioned that buses and state governments are transitioning to CNG, and significant projects are underway to introduce CNG into the market, with the goal of providing Nigerians with cleaner and more affordable fuel options.

Findings revealed that the development was the outcome of a meeting between the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and oil marketers on Thursday.

Sources privy to the meeting said it was agreed that the pump price of petrol should be increased by N10 per litre.

A market survey on Sunday revealed that price display boards at some petrol stations in Lagos reflected new prices starting between N170 per litre and N175 per litre.

However, some other filling stations sold above these prices, with some selling as high as N185/litre.

Oil marketers denied holding a meeting with the NMDPRA on the subject matter but sources close to the matter confirmed to our correspondent that the meeting actually held.

The officials said the NMDPRA agreed marketers could increase their pump price to N165-N175/litre for filling stations inside towns, and a maximum of N190/litre for those on the outskirts.

The meeting was held and everybody was told to keep mum. A band of N165-N175/litre was approved for the filling stations inside towns, while N189 was approved for those outside towns,” our source said.

The NMDPRA could not verify this claim as of press time on Sunday.

The spokesman for the NMDPRA, Kimchi Apollo, did not respond to several calls made to his telephone line.

However, marketers under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria confirmed the fuel pump price hike to our correspondent.

The National Operations Controller, IPMAN, Mike Osatuyi, explained the reasons behind the fuel pump price hike.

Osatuyi, who also denied that a meeting held between oil marketers and the Federal Government on Thursday, however, disclosed that there was a fresh increase, describing it as a “market fundamentally determined price.”

“Petrol now sells between N175-N180 per litre depending on the area, ‘’ he said.

Petrol is now available and as you can see, the queues in Lagos and Abuja have disappeared. We are businessmen and it’s impossible for us to run at a loss. Marketers are allowed to sell at a minimum price of N170 and a maximum of N180. There’s something we call market fundamentals; this is what came into play here. This is because it is impossible to bring the product into your station at N170 and sell at N165,” he added.

When asked if there was a circular from the NMDPRA to the effect, he responded “no”, adding, “there was no meeting but what you saw was simply an increase due to market forces.”

Explaining further, he said the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company’s price template, which has the current official price of N165/litre, was arrived at about 12 ago.

“The template is 12 years old when the dollar was still N175 and diesel was sold at N200/litre. Now, diesel is around N850. Even major oil marketers have changed their price boards to reflect the new band. It’s no more hidden. It is better for fuel to be available at N180 or N185 than buying at N250 from black marketeers. Now, no more boys going around with jerry cans, you can drive in and buy with ease”, he said.

Meanwhile, findings showed on Sunday that fuel queues at petrol stations in Lagos and Abuja, which had lingered since February, suddenly disappeared over the weekend following the latest development.

Meanwhile, economist and Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr. Muda Yusuf, said the current price is not sustainable.

According to him, the government is in the best position to control the prices of petrol if it cannot control diesel prices.

He said, “Already, National Bureau of Statistics reports make us understand that except for Lagos, Abuja and other big cities, petrol prices are already above N165/litre. That is the market reality, except the government doesn’t want private entities to get involved in the market because these guys are there to do business and not to run at a loss. These marketers share their figures with everybody. Most of these guys are based in Lagos and they transport their products in trucks that run on diesel. Can the government control the prices of diesel? If they can’t then, they should hand off regulating prices. They should first resolve the surging diesel prices and challenges at the depots before pouncing on marketers. Otherwise, their businesses will close down, and black marketers will take over the business – that’s when we will see more adulterated products capable of burning down houses and cars,” he said.

Also, a former Chairman of the Major Oil Marketers of Nigeria, Tunji Oyebanji, declined to comment on the new price but told The PUNCH that the Federal Government’s price template was old and needed to be updated.

He said, “Nobody had any meeting with the NMDPRA. The only thing we have continued to say is that N165/litre is not sustainable because the template with which that price was arrived at made all the elements therein fixed and unchanged. Elements such as coastal, NPA, NIMASA jetty throughput, storage and financing, which were used to arrive at the ex-depot price were all based on the old dollar and old diesel prices.

“All the items on the template have currently gone up because of the exchange rate which impacted our operating costs due to the high cost of diesel. As of the time when the template was done, diesel was N130/litre, now it is N800 which allows for an operating cost of N4.00. That is why N165/litre cannot work. Nobody is saying price should be this or that, but that government should come to our aid.”

According to him, if the price is not increased, marketers will soon go out of business.

Also reacting, a former Group Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, International Energy Services Limited, Dr Diran Fawibe, said, “The whole process is not transparent. If we had allowed market forces to determine prices, we wouldn’t be in the dilemma that we are currently in. Everybody is just throwing up figures and at the end of the day; it’s the consumers that will pay for it.  But as long as the government keeps giving subsidies, marketers will expect subsidies to keep increasing, and until we start to refine products in-country, the whole business will not just be murky but will soon turn into a monkey business.”

This was contained in a statement signed on Tuesday by the Vice-Chairman, CAN Northern States, Rev. John Joseph Hayab.

The statement faulted the negligence and incompetence of people holding public offices, noting that Nigerians should not continue to suffer because of this.

The statement, however, revealed that the Association was worried over the situation and would want to know who is responsible for the bad product and its scarcity.

He said despite the bad state of the nation presently, Nigerians are still made to go through the pains of having adulterated fuel in circulation and scarcity, which have further increased the hardship Nigerians are going through for about a month now.

“Were compelled to ask our Minister of Petroleum, what he and the ministry have done to avert and remedy this situation?” he asked.

The statement said Nigerian citizens are considered to be the most patient people on earth because they have been enduring bad governance, poor service delivery which has led to deaths that could have been avoided by many family members, friends, and associates.

It stressed that Nigerians are battling insecurity, poverty and now fuel crisis while nobody has ever been held responsible for all the pains, sufferings and poor services.

This was contained in statement signed by the special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.

The statement was titled ‘President Buhari Signs Petroleum Industry Bill Into Law’.

According to the the Adesina, Buhari  signed the controversial bill into law while working from quarantine.

Adesina said, “Working from home in five days quarantine as required by the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 after returning from London on Friday, August 13, the President assented to the Bill Monday, August 16, in his determination to fulfil his constitutional duty.

“The ceremonial part of the new legislation will be done on Wednesday, after the days of mandatory isolation would have been fulfilled.

“The Petroleum Industry Act provides legal, governance, regulatory and fiscal framework for the Nigerian petroleum industry, the development of host communities, and related matters.

“The Senate had passed the Bill on July 15, 2021, while the House of Representatives did same on July 16, thus ending a long wait since early 2000s, and notching another high for the Buhari administration.”

The recently assented PIB has been heavily criticised by stakeholders in Southern Nigeria with the Pan-Niger Delta Forum and other groups in the South-South, South-West and South-East describing its provisions as “unjust, satanic and provocative”.

On Tuesday, two diplomats said that the Russians and Chinese made the committee aware before Tuesday’s deadline for objections.

The US and 25 other countries accused North Korea of violating United States sanctions by importing far more than the annual limit of 500,000 barrels of refined petroleum products.

The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

A complaint asked the sanctions committee to rule that Pyongyang breached the refined petroleum products cap and demand an immediate halt to deliveries.