Tanya Davidson
Abuja — The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, has rejected calls for government intervention to fix petroleum prices, insisting that market forces determine fuel prices under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Lokpobiri said Section 205 of the PIA places the determination of petroleum product prices on market forces, warning that any attempt by government to fix prices would violate the law.
“Crude oil is a global commodity, and its pricing is global as well, determining the prices of petroleum products,” the minister said.
“This is not peculiar to Nigeria but a global reality in the energy industry, and it does not mean that we will roll back the policy of deregulation of the downstream sector.”
His comments come amid renewed debate over petrol prices, with political proposals emerging for measures to make fuel more affordable to Nigerians.
According to Lokpobiri, deregulation means that petroleum product prices will continue to reflect market conditions rather than being administratively determined by government.
“Section 205 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) places the determination of petroleum product prices on market forces. Any attempt at price fixing would, therefore, amount to a violation of that provision; hence, the call for price fixing is an aberration,” he said.
The minister also argued that despite the impact of global market conditions, Nigerian petroleum products remain relatively more affordable than in neighbouring countries, the United States and the United Kingdom.
He attributed recent price pressures partly to ongoing geopolitical tensions, but maintained that the country must preserve what he described as the gains of downstream deregulation.
“While current prices reflect the impact of ongoing geopolitical tensions globally, we must not lose sight of the gains of deregulation, particularly the sustained availability of petroleum products, unlike the shortages experienced in the past,” Lokpobiri said.
