Published 18th Jul, 2023

By Sodeeq Atanda

Mele Kyari, the managing director and chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), has attributed the latest pump price increase to market forces.

He explained that market forces were determining how much a litre of petrol would be sold to final consumers, adding that the latest increase, which caused a litre to sell for N617, was not because the product wasn’t available.

He revealed this to journalists after meeting with Kashim Shettima, Nigeria’s vice-president, on Tuesday.

“I don’t have the details this moment. We have a marketing wing of our company. They adjust prices depending on market realities and this is what is happening. This is making sure that the market regulates itself so that the prices would go up and sometimes, it would come down. This is really what we are seeing. In reality, this is how market works,” Kyari said.

On whether availability has anything to do with the current increment, he said, “There is no supply issue completely. When you go to the market, you buy the product and come back to sell it at prevailing prices. Nothing with supply. We don’t have supply issues.

“Market forces will regulate the market. Prices will go down sometimes; it will go up sometimes. But there will be stability of supply and I am assuring Nigerians that this is the best way to go forward. Market forces have started to play, people have started having confidence in the market and private sector people are now importing the products. There is no way they can recover their costs if they cannot take market-reflective costs.

The head of the petroleum company was flanked by Farouk Ahmed, the chief executive officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

Ahmed corroborated his counterpart’s explanation on the role market forces have come to play and that the agency would not interfere in the determination of pump prices going forward.

“The market is deregulated, and it is open to every participant,” Ahmed told reporters. He mentioned that some large petrol consignments were onshore to Nigeria.

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