The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) says it will no longer fix prices or release templates for petrol prices.The Authority Chief Executive, Farouk Ahmed, explained that under the liberalised market, market forces are allowed to dictate prices.
Ahmed said the market is now open for anybody wishing to import petroleum products far as long as they meet all requirements.
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He also pointed out that the NMDPRA will guide their operations whether at the depot or wherever the product is but will not put a cap on price.
Ahmed explained that the NNPC’s role is to fix the prices of the petrol it imports and not take over the responsibilities of the Authority.
This, he said is to allow it recover its costs in line with how much was used to import the product
The NMDPRA chief also revealed that the Federal Government has officially scrapped petroleum equalisation as well as the national transport allowance, adding that the NMDPRA and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) will mount aggressive monitoring of activities in the downstream sector to prevent profiteering by petroleum marketers.
Ahmed further said marketers are now free to source their foreign exchange anywhere to import petroleum products and recover their costs without impediment as the market structure will also dictate the price swings at every point in time.
He maintained that the Dangote will help the nation in two ways by giving Nigeria easy access to petroleum products on-land for security reasons and increase employment for professionals
(Editor: Oloyede Oworu)
