'No more N600' - Marketers speak on real cost of fuel as NNPC finds new ways to fulfil Tinubu's promise

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has managed to keep the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, low despite global crude oil prices on the rise.

On Monday, September 5, 2023, Brent crude, the international benchmark for crude oil price, crossed $90 per barrel the highest level crude since November 16, 2022.

The Guardian reports that by implication, the pump price of PMS should hover between N818 and N833 per litre.

You will recall that President Bola Tinubu, in his inaugural speech, announced that fuel subsidy is gone, opening the doors for market forces to determine pump prices.

However, in reaction to rising crude prices, the presidency recently promised that there will be no increase.

NNPC keeps prices low

Currently, a litre of petrol is sold for between N580 and N640 depending on the location in the country.

In neighboring countries, such as Cameroon, a liter is sold at N1,082.70 per liter; in Benin, it's N1,008.90; in Sierra Leone, it's N1,143; in Togo, it's N1,037; in Ghana, it's N1,047; and in Guinea, it's N1,258.20.

The significant difference in pump prices between Nigeria and its neighboring countries suggests that the president may have reinstated fuel subsidy.

A marketer who was recently licensed to import fuel into the country shared insights with the Guardian on how NNPC has been able to maintain petrol prices at N600 average price despite rising crude oil prices.

He said: "NNPC unofficially has been told to subsidise PMS through exchange rates. They are getting dollars from crude oil sales. It is their money they can decide to do with the exchange rate at N1 to $1 or N915 to $1, whatever they do, it is in their books, they aren’t looking for forex anywhere.

"But we marketers have to go out and look for forex, and it is this forex that impacts what we sell."

Also reacting, a Lagos-based economist, Tunji Adeboye, told Legit.ng that fuel subsidy has returned, and the government is simply concealing the truth.

His words: "No reason petrol should be selling at an average price of N600, considering the current global crude oil price. I urge the federal government to publish its pricing template to justify the current pump price.

"The landing cost for imported products has increased. The government should be transparent about this and let us know where we are as a country"