From Dennis Mernyi, Abuja
THE Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) has reiterated that the benchmark retail price of premium motor spirit (PMS) will remain at N86.00 for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and N86.50 for the other marketing companies.
The agency also announced that the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, has approved the release of the second quarter allocations for the supply of premium motor spirit, commonly known as petrol.
In a statement signed by the Manager Corporate Services, Lanre Oladele, the agency said NNPC, has 41.73 per cent of the total allocation, while the rest of the oil marketing companies got a total allocation of 58.27 per cent.
“The agency is retaining the retail prices of N86.00 for the NNPC, and N86.50 for the other marketing companies.
“The pump price of household kerosene (HHK) also remains unchanged from what it was in the last quarter. Therefore, marketers are advised to ensure that there is no price distortion in their respective retail outlets,” Oladele said.
He said PPPRA would, however, continue to monitor the global oil market performance, and come up, at the appropriate time, with reasonable changes consistent with the newly adopted price modulation principles.
The PPPRA Acting Executive Secretary, Sotonye Iyoyo, therefore, appealed to all depot owners to strictly adhere to the prevailing truck-out policy put in place by the agency, to ensure that petroleum products get to their designated retail outlets across the country.
She also warned that adequate sanctions would be meted out to any depot-owner found to be hoarding products.
On the news making the rounds that the agency would increase the pump-price, Iyoyo urged members of the public to ignore such rumour, as prevailing market indicators do not support such.
Her words: “PPPRA is resolutely committed to the sustenance of its reform initiatives, in order to further guarantee adequate supply of products nationwide. We therefore assure Nigerians of our total commitment to service delivery, in the quest to deliver on our mandate to the people of Nigeria.”
She also called on motorists to desist from panic buying as PPPRA is working hard with other sister-organizations to ensure that the current supply and distribution challenges are resolved within the coming days.