Yemisi Izuora/Joseph Bakare
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation,( NNPC),has said that pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also called petrol sells at N87 per litre.
It therefore dismissed reports that the pump price of the product has been reduced to N57 per liter.
The NNPC, in a statement , described the report as false and advised members of the public to ignore such the rumour saying that the price of petrol remains N87 per litre.
The NNPC also promised to work with other downstream petroleum sector stakeholders to eliminate obstacles to the free flow in supply of petroleum products across the country.
To this end, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, has promised to work with other relevant Federal Government agencies to fast track the payment of the outstanding subsidy claims to oil marketers.
In the interim, Kachikwu promised to arrange for a meeting with the relevant creditors (bankers) to ease off pressure on marketers and extend the credit lines.
He added that several financing mechanism are being explored to offset the commitment to oil marketers.
He hinted at the possibility of exploring the monthly payment option, stating that the Federal Government might, in the future, explore some creative means to prevent backlogs.
The NNPC also stated that the meeting held in its office in Abuja, with members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN alongside the Depot and Petroleum Products Association, DAPPMA, was a major step towards ensuring zero fuel queues throughout the country ahead of the forthcoming yuletide and beyond.
Addressing the downstream stakeholders at the meeting, Kachikwu, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, stated that the issue of uninterrupted supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country is of utmost importance to the present administration.
He noted that the Federal Government is willing to do everything possible to ensure that members of the public do not go through any form of hardship in accessing petroleum products particularly PMS.
Speaking on behalf of major oil marketers, Femi Olawore, Secretary General, MOMAN, commended Kachikwu for his support and pledged the readiness of the marketers to work assiduously with the Federal Government in ensuring zero fuel scarcity across the nation in the forth coming yuletide and even beyond.
Olawore called on Kachikwu to facilitate the institution of a special committee to verify and authenticate the current national PMS consumption figure of 40 million litres per day.
Also, Mr. Dapo Abiodun, Chairman of DAPPMA commended the NNPC for what he termed improved services at various PPMC product loading facilities and urged the new Management of the company to sustain the tempo.