Amidst scarcity, petrol to sell for N85 from Jan 1

Despite nationwide scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also called petrol, the Federal Government is set to reduce the pump price of the product to N85 from the current N87.

The new price is coming into force alongside the removal of the Petroleum Support Fund, popularly referred to as subsidy.

The Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, stated this on Friday in Port Harcourt, adding that the new pump price will come into effect from January 2016.

 The minister said the new pump price is according to a PPPRA template which he signed off on Wednesday, adding that it will be the first reflection of the price modulation that will kick off fully in the petroleum sector by January 2016.

Kachikwu was in Port Harcourt on a tour of the refineries in the Rivers State capital.

According to him, the price modulation is to help ensure the fluctuation of prices to reflect the realities of the crude oil market.

He further disclosed that all efforts were being made to get the refineries to start up to 60% production also in January that will supply about 11 million litres of petrol daily.

“If you look at the new PPPRA template that we developed and which I just signed off two days ago, when it is announced you will find out that for now (and I use the emphatic word of the President ‘for now’), the price of the refined product will actually be lower than 87 naira, It will be 85. We will probably announce that in January if the prices hold.

“What that does for you is that its modulating. If it goes up you move up, if it comes down you come down. So we take away the fact of having to go find funds to pay for these subsidies that we cannot afford.

“More importantly we try to be as close to the pump price that we have now as possible,” he said.