By Emmanuel Nduka
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has disclosed that Federal Government’s subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) has not been removed completely.
The minister made this clarification during a chat on the sidelines of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) stakeholders’ consultation forum on regulations in Abuja.
Sylva who was reacting to the increase in the pump price of petroleum by marketers from N165 per litre to N169, N184 and N218 per litre respectively, depending on the area in Abuja and other states, said: “I can tell you authoritatively, we have not deregulated. The government is still subsidising petrol prices. If there are increases in price, it is not from the government.”
“It is probably from the marketers but of course, I will talk to the authority to ensure that they actually regulate the price. This is not from the government, we have not deregulated.
“But a lot is going on to ensure that the queues ended. As of yesterday, I noticed that the queues in Abuja are easing off,” he added.
Despite the increase in pump prices by marketers, long queues have still lingered across filling stations in the country.
