Immidiate-past Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON) and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Osita Okechukwu, has demanded urgent reduction in the price of PMS.
Speaking to journalists at Abuja on Sunday, Okechukwu commended Independent Petroleum Markers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Dangote and NNPCL for collaboration and called for fuel pump price reduction to allow Nigerians breathe.
Okechukwu opined that his request is not reversal of President Tinubu’s dictum – subsidy is gone; but for Nigerians to benefit from the Naira Template transaction without opaque dollar cost of importation.
He explained that his commendation is anchored on the truism that the IPMAN, Dangote and NNPCL collaboration if given the nudge will definitely crash fuel pump price, enhance availability of products and save billions of dollars.
Accordingly, Okechukwu appealed to President Tinubu that now that the trifecta – NNPCL, IPMAN and Dangote are working together on Naira template and the importation cost knocked off; as substantive Minister of Petroleum he should as a matter of urgent national importance single out PMS and reduce fuel pump price, crash food prices and let Nigerians breathe and make up from diesel, fuel oil etc.
He maintained that reduction in fuel pump price is not subsidy removal as the opaque cost of importation has been the major issue which even Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala lamented on as Minister of Finance.
Okechukwu also expressed relief that the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, has said there is no sabotage of local refineries by the company; though belatedly it is a new vista that NNPCL is committed to resolving Nigeria’s energy dilemma, security, sustainable growth and energy affordability.
He submitted that this puts an end to IPMAN’s previous plan to engage in the importation of refined petroleum products, which gulps humongous revenue because of cost of freight, insurance and sundry.
