From Uche Usim, Abuja
With the price of diesel inching towards N1,000 per litre and forcing several businesses to pack up, President Muhammadu Buhari, has approved an upward review of freight rate for transporters of petroleum products.
The move comes as many petroleum tanker owners have grounded their vehicles due to high cost of diesel to ferry petrol to parts of the country. The development has led to persistent scarcity of petrol. The revised freight rate, which has not been made public, takes effect from June 1, 2022, while still maintaining the current regulated PMS pump price of N165.00/litre.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), who made the disclosure in a statement on Thursday, said the review would alleviate the challenges associated with the distribution of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), nationwide.
The statement said the approval was done after due consultations with relevant stakeholders at the instance of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (the Authority). “The review was necessitated by the upswing in the global price of petroleum products especially Automotive Gasoil (Diesel) and its implication on the cost of transporting Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) nationwide.
“Consequently, the Authority wishes to advise as follows that: In line with the mandate of the Authority as prescribed in the PIA (Section 31(i)) to develop and enforce a framework on tariffing and pricing for natural gas and petroleum products, the transporters freight rate has been reviewed to reflect current market realities.
“An Inter-agency team is being constituted to ensure reconciliation and payment of outstanding transporters claims in line with established payment procedure under the Bridging Fund Scheme.
“Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), the sole supplier of PMS, has maintained over 32 days sufficiency in-country.