Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The landing cost of premium motor spirits popularly known as fuel, has risen to N470 per litre, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has said.
IPMAN Chairman in Rivers State, Dr Joseph Obele, said the government was currently paying subsidy of at least N305 per litre of fuel consumed in the country.
Obele explained that the rising cost of the landing cost of PMS was as a result of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, which was also affecting the price of crude oil in the international market.
He regretted that Nigerians would not have been affected if the nation’s four refineries were functioning optimally, as fuel would have been sold at less than N80 per litre, if the refineries were working.
“As at last week, the landing cost of PMS was N470 per litre and government setting a template of N165 per litre, only means that the government will be paying subsidy of over N305 per litre.
“Recall that early this year in January, the budget for subsidy was put at N3trillion and a supplementary budget was passed around March 2022 for N6trillion, and landing cost of PMS at the time was about N280 per litre.
“So, the landing cost of PMS arising from the Ukraine and Russia conflict has made fuel to land at about N470 as at last week
“So government proposing to pay more for subsidy will amount to about N10trillion, just this year alone and that is too much.
And that’s why the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources has said the government will not intervene anymore.”
The IPMAN boss in Rivers State also said that the commercialization of NNPC from the government venture that it used to be, was simply a wrong timing.
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