FG Plans Fresh Fuel Price Hike, Petrol to Sell at N180

The planned fuel price hike is part of the deal reached between the government and organised labour; Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the National Union of Petrol and Gas (NUPENG) on Tuesday in Abuja.

Both oil unions had threatened to embark on strike over the vexed issue of Joint Venture Cash Call, (JVCC), the arrears of which have not been paid to the Joint Venture partners, hence the threat by the International Oil Companies (IOCs) to lay off their Nigerian workers while refusing to pay some of their allowances due to an alleged shortage of cash.

This newspaper further learnt that major oil marketers have expressed the worry that they can no longer sustain fuel imports with forex pegged at N283 to the U.S. dollar except the federal government completely deregulates the downstream sector.

One of those who attended the meeting told The Whistler, “the federal government, unions and major oil marketers have sealed a deal for a further fuel price hike as the only guaranteed to ensure steady availability of petroleum products. The oil marketers have decried the pegging of forex at over N280. It is not sustainable.

“Given the harsh economic environment in the country, the FG had little alternative but to cave in. Nigerians should brace up for what is coming,” the source said.
In May, the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) had insisted that only a full deregulation of the downstream sector would provide permanent solution to the perennial challenges associated with sourcing petrol and foreign exchange.

The Executive Secretary of MOMAN, Mr. Obafemi Olawor, had argued then: “Deregulation should enable each marketer decide the price it wants to sell. Deregulation should enable each marketer to sell different grades of the same product.

You may have come across the fact that in Nigerian filling stations in those days, we use to sell Regular Petrol, Super Petrol, Premium Petrol and Five Star Petrol, which was meant for big SUVs. So, you could go to filling stations to buy the type of petrol that suits your car and these products were sold at different prices. That is deregulation, not price fixing.”