Petrol: Anxiety As FG Gives Fresh Details, Reveals Why Nigerians Will Buy Litre At N234
Mele Kyari, the group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has said that the federal government can no longer afford to subsidise the cost of buying petrol in the country.
Daily Nigerian reports that Kyari, who stated this on Thursday, March 25, during the weekly ministerial briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the federal government spends about N120 billion on fuel subsidy monthly.
Legit.ng gathered that he disclosed that the actual cost of importation and handling charges amounts to N234 per litre, adding that the government has been selling the product at N162 per litre.
According to him, the trend can’t continue, saying that Nigerians would have to pay the actual cost sooner or later.
Sahara Reporters also reports that Kyari argued that market forces must be allowed to determine the pump price of petrol in the country.
Kyari said:
“Our current consumption is— evacuation from our depots is about 60 million liters per day. We are selling at 162 to the liter. The current market price is 234, the actual market price today. The difference between the two, multiply by 60 million times thirty, will give you per month.
“This is a simple arrangement you do. If you want exact figures from our book, I do not have it at this moment but it’s between N100billion and N120billion per month. We are putting the difference in the books of NNPC and we cannot continue to bear.”
