High Cost Of Diesel Driving Fuel Price Hike- NOGASA

The Nigerian Gas and Oil Suppliers Association (NAGOSA) has urged the federal government to regulate the price of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), popularly called diesel.

The National President of NAGOSA, Bennett Korie said on Tuesday that the move will curtail the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) across the country while attributing diesel cost to naira devaluation.

“Fix that diesel problem, then PMS will be stable. If the government wants to be fair and wants to do the deregulation properly, then diesel too should go the same way PMS is going.

“Heavens will not fall if you sell AGO N650 per litre. The same magic they have in PMS, the government should apply it on AGO, and then you would see things ease,” he said in Abuja.

Speaking further, Korie blasted the Nigeria Ports Authority and the Nigerian Maritime and Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for accepting and demanding payment in dollars despite the country’s forex woes.

This, he said, should be regulated while urging the federal government to adopt the N750/$ 2024 budget exchange rate benchmark as its official exchange rate.

He called on the government to reintroduce and strengthen the Petroleum Equalization Fund to enable marketers to recoup and reinvest their funds for the benefit of the industry and economy.

Korie noted that the federal government’s failure to address the challenges and the hostile business environment will naturally cause petrol marketers to fold up before the end of February 2024.