The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and the Federal Government’s Ministry of Petroleum Resources have declared that the numerous assertions made by various people and organizations regarding the purported return of subsidies on Premium Motor Spirit, also known as gasoline, are untrue.
The administration emphasized that since President Bola Tinubu declared the end of the gasoline subsidy, the situation has not changed and challenged those who make this argument to present evidence to support their claims.
Heineken Lokpobiri, the minister of state for petroleum resources (oil), emphasized that fuel subsidies were a delicate subject but pointed out that the government had already expressed its views.
Upon being contacted regarding the response from Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), his media assistant Nneamaka Okafor supplied a video clip featuring her boss’s response to the statements made by the former Kaduna governor and marketers.
In the video, Lokpobiri claimed that the government was no longer subsidizing gasoline and urged anyone claiming otherwise to back up their claims with facts and evidence.
“I do not want to delve into that issue,” the minister declared. This is a really delicate matter. We should obtain all the information.
In my opinion, the subsidy was eliminated by the President and is still gone as of right now. If someone claims that a subsidy is being paid, they should present their evidence before we discuss it.
When asked if market forces determine the price of gasoline today, the minister said, “Let us deal with the price as it is today; it may not be determined by market forces.”
“It is the responsibility of every government to take specific actions in various sectors, including but not limited to the petroleum industry, in order to mitigate the impact and burden on Nigerian citizens.
“In addition, the NNPC stated that it was recouping all of its expenses from the petroleum products it imports into Nigeria and maintained that there was no longer any kind of gasoline subsidy. Right now, Nigeria only imports gasoline from NNPC.
Their remarks coincided with oil marketers endorsing the assertion made by Kaduna State’s most recent governor, Nasir El-Rufai, that the Federal Government had restarted subsidizing Premium Motor Spirit, or gasoline.
Additionally, oil dealers noted that, in the absence of a subsidy, the current price of PMS at filling stations ought to be approximately N900 per litre.They claim that this price is the result of the naira’s recent increase in value relative to the US dollar.
Depending on the location of the purchase, gas is currently priced at the pump between N600 and N700 per litre.El-Rufai had informed reporters in Maiduguri on Monday that a large number of people were unaware that the PMS subsidy had been reinstated by the government.Many people are unaware that the Federal Government currently provides fuel subsidies.
That policy is appropriate. I have always backed the removal of oil subsidies; however, as the policy was being implemented, the government realized that the subsidies needed to be reinstated, and as a result, it is currently spending even more money on subsidies.
“You are certain that a policy is correct when you begin implementing it, but as you go along, you find bottlenecks and make changes.
Pragmatism is, in my opinion, the key word in leadership. You ought to have common sense. Therefore, when you create a policy and begin to implement it, it does not appear to be working well.
The former governor said, “You should have the humility to step back and say this is not working, and you modify it.”