NNPC Finally Discloses When There Will Be Hike in the Price of Petrol

• Mele Kyari, the GMD of the NNPC, has given assurance that the federal government will continue to subsidise petrol till 2022
• This implies that Nigerians may have to pay more for petrol in 2023 as the removal of subsidy will very likely lead to a price hike
• A litre of petrol which is currently sold for N162 should be N256 without subsidy, the NNPC boss had previously said

FCT, Abuja - The group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, has said the federal government will sustain the payment of petrol subsidy till 2022.

The Guardian reported that Kyari made this known at a stakeholders’ hearing organised by the Senate on the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper in Abuja.

The NNPC boss said the decision to exit the subsidy regime would be determined by the outcome of the ongoing negotiations between the federal government and organised labour.

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This implies that Nigerians will likely have to pay more for petrol in 2023 when the subsidy will have been removed, going by Kyari's statement.

Recall the NNPC boss had said Nigerians should be paying at least N256 per litre for petrol given the current exchange rate.

Also recently, a committee set up by the Nigerian Governors Forum had recommended the removal of subsidy and the increment of petrol price up to between N380 and N408.5 per litre.

120 billion paid monthly to subsidise petrol

Legit.ng notes that Kyari spoke against the backdrop of his admission during a recent ministerial briefing that the NNPC pays between N100 and 120 billion monthly to keep the pump price of petrol at N162 per litre.

He said the federal government would exit subsidising product consumption once the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) becomes fully operational.

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The NNPC boss, nevertheless, acknowledged that an increase in the price of fuel would have a direct bearing on the well-being of the citizenry and national security.

The minister of state for petroleum resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, had also recently said the removal of fuel subsidy is not immediate, Vanguard reported.

Subsidy removal: Petrol price could rise to N1,000 per litre

Meanwhile, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has issued a warning that when the petrol subsidy regime comes to an end, Nigerians may have to spend as much as N1000 per litre for the product if an alternative energy source is not provided.

This was disclosed by the DPR director, Sarki Auwalu, at the Second Quarter, 2021 Business Dinner of Petroleum Club Lagos.

In a statement seen by Legit.ng on the DPR website, Auwalu, who was responding to questions and comments generated by a paper he delivered, said Nigeria was spending so much on petrol subsidy.

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NNPC reveals when Nigeria will stop importing petrol

In another report, Kyari has disclosed when Nigeria will stop the importation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

He said this will happen when the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) comes into full effect, and when the Dangote Refinery kicks off operations.

Speaking on the country's involvement in Dangote Refinery, the NNPC chief justified the federal government’s equity share in the plant.

Source: Legit.ng