A member of the People Democratic Party (PDP), National Presidential Campaign Council, Adetokunbo Pearse, says Nigerians have a right to know the actual landing cost of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
Dr Pearse, speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, stated that a thorough scrutiny should be carried out on the Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, over the fluctuation of landing cost.
“The way you solve a problem is to go to the source. Let the president go and interrogate NNPCL and let us find out – announce to the country what the landing cost is so that we know exactly what we can make, and how much we can sell oil that will not cripple the economy. That’s what we need to do,” he said.
He lamented that going back to the NNPC would affect the landing cost of imported fuel.
“When you go to the NNPCL, you find out that the landing cost is so low, the price that is given. The landing cost at one point was 50 naira per litre, now it’s about 150 per litre.”
According to the Lagos State Coordinator, Atiku/ Okowa Presidential Campaign Support Group, the emergence of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the repair of the local refineries ought to reduce the landing cost of the product in contrast to the NNPCL boss’ comment.
“One of the reasons I said we need to go to NNPCL is this: Kyari said on this Channels that even when Dangote oil comes fully on board, the price of pump fuel will not reduce – even with the production of oil in Port Harcourt and elsewhere. That man needs to be investigated.
“Of course, if you refine your oil here, the man is already telling us that even when it is refined here, it is still not going to go down and you and I know that if we have our own refineries and we are refining the product here, the price should be more competitive,” he argued.
As of September 2022, the NNPCL in a statement noted that PMS will cost consumers N462 per litre without the Federal Government’s subsidy.
It added that the “rising crude oil prices and PMS supply costs above PPPRA (now NMDPRA) cap had forced oil marketing companies (OMCs) withdrawal from PMS import since the fourth quarter of 2017.
In the wake of a deepening forex crisis, NIGERIAN ANCHOR had reported that oil marketers signalled a potential surge in the cost of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, projecting prices between N680/litre and N720/litre in the near future.
The escalation hinges on the prevailing exchange rate, which oscillates between N910 and N950 for a US dollar in the parallel market.
Market insiders have also disclosed that the scarcity of foreign exchange has prompted prospective PMS importers to shelve their plans temporarily.
This revelation emerges shortly after the local currency surpassed the N900/dollar benchmark, with the naira trading at over 945/dollar in the parallel market on Friday.
As a result, the shortage has forced dealers who were initially eager to import petrol to suspend their plans.
Leaders of notable organizations such as the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, and Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria have underscored the need for the Federal Government’s intervention to address the mounting crisis.
