Governors of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), yesterday, hailed President Buhari for managing the country’s economy well.
They cited the revival of railways, the 2nd Niger Bridge, Ajaokuta Steel and the construction of roads across the country even in the face of COVID-19 as signs of his management dexterity.
In a statement, Chairman of the forum and Kebbi Governor, Atiku Bagudu, assured President Buhari of the governors loyalty and support.
“We commend the Federal Government for successfully getting the UK Commercial Court to order stay of execution, which also suspends any penalty against Nigeria in respect of the $9.6 billion Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) debt judgement against Nigeria.”
This came as Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) assured Nigerians that the deregulation of the downstream oil sector was in the best interest of the country.
Executive Secretary of the Agency, Saidu Abdulkadir, gave the assurance in Abuja, yesterday, when he briefed newsmen on the deregulation of the sector.
Abdulkadir said that the recent increase in the pump price of the PMS hinges on the global market and availability of forex to marketers.
Represented by Mr. Victor Shidok, General Manager, Administration and Human Relations, the PPPRA boss said most marketers were yet to start the importation of products due to non-availability of foreign exchange.
According to him, although the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (PPMC), remained the sole importer of the product, PPPRA would continue to monitor developments to check profiteering by marketers.
“The PPPRA as a regulator will continue the role of a watchdog in this deregulation regime. We will continue to maintain our role as a regulator and ensure that Nigerians are not short changed in any way in this process. You know how things are globally with the impact of COVID-19 to the global oil market. Accessing forex remains a challenge for marketers. We are hopeful that in a few months to come, Nigerians will understand what government is doing to stabilise the downstream sector,’’ he said.
Abdulkadir said that the agency would continue to monitor the code of conduct that guides operation of marketers in the industry and ensure that it was not violated.
He reiterated that government was no longer in business of fixing the pump price of petrol but would monitor marketers to avoid profiteering.
He hinted that the agency may not be able to provide monthly price band for the product as it contradicts the deregulation policy.
“If we give you the price band for this month, it is like price fixing’’ he said, and assured Nigerians that better days were ahead as things would normalise with time.