The Petroleum Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), has given possible reasons for the increase in the price of fuel in the country, News About Nigeria reports.
While speaking during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday, the president of PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harris, attributed the increase to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPCL) reduced ability to manage market shocks.
According to him, it seems like the NNPCL, which plays a key role in fuel distribution across Nigeria, may have reached its limit in absorbing costs related to fuel importation and distribution.
He stated that there has been some difficulty in landing products by the NNPCL, adding that the company will need to shed some of the load.
Gillis-Harris further noted that while the NNPCL had managed to keep fuel prices stable for some time following the removal of the subsidy, the current situation appears to have surpassed its ability to continue cushioning the impact for Nigerian consumers.
He encouraged further dialogue on how to stabilise the situation and called for more efficient measures to manage Nigeria’s energy sector. He also suggested that NNPCL and other stakeholders could explore alternative strategies to alleviate the burden on consumers in the long term.
He stated, “What I can tell you is, once there is difficulty in landing products by NNPCL and the size of shock-absorbing that they (NNPCL) can do becomes overwhelming, they will certainly shed some of the loads,” he said, referring to the NNPC’s efforts to shield Nigerians from fluctuating global oil prices. “I think that’s what would have happened.”
