The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has stated that the current price of premium motor spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, does not accurately reflect market conditions.
Adedapo Segun, the executive vice-president for downstream operations at NNPC, made this known on Thursday during an appearance on Arise Television’s Morning Show.
Earlier this week, the NNPC raised petrol prices at its retail stations, with prices in Lagos now set at N855 per litre and in Abuja at N897. However, Segun emphasized that despite the increase, the price is still lower than the actual landing cost of N1,200 per litre.
“What I can tell you simply is that the pump price today is still not market reflecting. And so, if we are, and we should be moving towards market reflective pump prices, so the competition can kick in,” Segun said during the interview.
He further noted that NNPC remains the sole provider of petrol in Nigeria, which he described as an “abnormal” situation. Segun advocated for a more competitive market where multiple operators can import and sell PMS, allowing consumers to benefit from better pricing.
Additionally, Segun addressed concerns about petrol supply issues, noting that NNPC is working to prevent fuel diversions and ensure that stations are properly recalibrated to sell at the new prices.
“We are doing our best to ensure that there are no diversions. When you have a price change situation, typically it takes a few days for all of the stations to recalibrate their meters. So that’s basically the situation we are in now,” he explained.
Segun expressed confidence that the situation would stabilize within a few days as more stations adjust to the new pricing structure.
