- The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has indicated that the present price of premium motor spirit, or petrol, does not reflect current market conditions. Adedapo Segun, NNPC’s executive vice-president for downstream operations, made this remark during an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Morning Show’ on Thursday. On Tuesday, NNPC increased petrol prices at its retail outlets, with the cost now at N855 per litre in Lagos and N897 in Abuja. Segun noted that because the current petrol price is still below the landing cost of N1,200, Nigeria should adopt pricing that mirrors market realities to foster competition.
He said: “NNPC is the sole provider of PMS in the country today and that is abnormal, we should have a situation where everyone who is in the business is able to bring in PMS and sell. And the consumers get the best situation.”
He also mentioned that NNPC is working to prevent any diversion of petrol.
“We are doing our best to ensure that there are no diversions. When you have a price change situation, typically it takes a few days for all of the stations to recalibrate their meters. So that’s basically the situation we are in now,” he said.
“I expect that this will fizzle out within the next few days as more stations calibrate and begin to sell.”
Regarding the debt owed to suppliers, Segun noted that it has not impacted the relationship between NNPC and its suppliers. He assured that the debt will be settled in due course.
“I can assure you that we have a good relationship with our suppliers. And as we speak, we don’t have a problem with the supplies coming in.
“Yes, we do have a challenge with payments. And that’s largely due to the fact that there are some effects of liquidity, as it’s obvious. And that is the challenge as much as we can, we are making payments to them.
“And talking about the debts, I wouldn’t want to go into that issue. But yes, there is a debt. There may have been a denial of the exact amount that was posted in the media. It wasn’t a correct amount, so maybe that was a denial. But yes, there is a debt.
“It’s not news to anyone. But we are doing all we can to make sure that we retain the confidence of our suppliers. And I can assure you that our suppliers have confidence in our ability to pay.”
Segun stated that NNPC has always fulfilled its payment obligations, which is why the suppliers continue to support the company.
