The Federal Government (FG), has disclosed that it may review the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly referred to as petrol by April 1.
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), while making the announcement, noted that the new price regime of N125 per litre would only last till the end of March.
This was disclosed by the Executive Secretary, PPPRA, Mr. Abdulkadir Saidu, during a press briefing in Abuja. The PPPRA boss stated that the agency would review the price of PMS and announce a new price for the commodity by April 1, 2020, if there is any change in the parameters used in determining the current price.
He pointed out that the reduced price, which was announced on Wednesday, March 18, 2020, would run throughout the month of March 2020. He went further to say that the review of the pump price of PMS would be on a monthly basis and changes made, depending on the realities on the ground.
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Saidu said, “The approved price of N125 per litre comes into effect from today, which is going to be what we would apply till the end of the month. Then, from the 1st of April, PPPRA will be modulating a monthly price of petroleum products based on the market fundamentals. What the new pricing regime is going to be doing is going to be looking at the actual market price. It is going to be a reflection of what the market is doing.
“The way the market is going, this is N125 today, if by the end of March, the prices go below where they are today, then the Nigerian populace will be expected to pay less than N125. It is going to be a reflection of what the market is doing in any particular period.”
He dismissed claims by oil marketers that they were not consulted before the review of the pump price of PMS and expressed reservations at some of them who have not yet complied with the new directive.
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He, however, gave assurances of the Federal Government’s willingness to continue to engage the oil marketers as a meeting had been scheduled with representatives of the oil marketing companies, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN; Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN; and Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association, DAPPMA.