Nigeria’s Petrol Still Cheaper than US, Ghana, Others — Lokpobiri
Lokpobiri stated this on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday while defending the Federal Government’s deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector amid concerns over rising petrol prices.
His comments came as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and other oil marketers began reducing their depot prices following a decline in international crude oil prices.
On Wednesday, Dangote Refinery reduced its petrol depot price from N1,350 to N1,325 per litre, while other marketers also lowered their prices in some parts of the country.
Despite the reductions, petrol prices remained between N1,370 and N1,450 per litre in some locations.
Lokpobiri said the average petrol price in Nigeria was lower than prices in the United States, Cameroon, Ghana and South Africa.
He cited average prices of N1,633 per litre in the US, N1,959 in Cameroon and N2,070 in both Ghana and South Africa, compared with about N1,430 in Nigeria.
The minister argued that being an oil-producing country and having the Dangote Refinery did not automatically mean Nigeria would have the cheapest petrol.
He noted that the United States, despite being the world’s largest oil and gas producer and having significant refining capacity, still sells petrol at a higher average price than Nigeria.
Lokpobiri said deregulation had also created an environment for private investment in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, including the development of the Dangote Refinery.
He argued that the refinery would have struggled to compete if the government had continued importing petrol and selling it below market prices.
According to him, deregulation was designed to enable private-sector businesses to operate and invest across the midstream and downstream segments of the oil and gas industry.
The minister also defended the removal of petrol subsidy, saying savings from the policy were being shared among the Federal Government, states and local governments through the Federation Account Allocation Committee.
He said about N2.1tn was currently being shared through the Federation Account, adding that increased allocations had enabled states to pay salaries and undertake major projects.
Lokpobiri said high energy prices were not unique to Nigeria, noting that crude oil and other energy commodities were traded in a global market.
He maintained that the Federal Government would not reverse the deregulation policy, arguing that maintaining it was necessary to attract investment into the sector.
The minister also cited the Dangote Refinery’s supply of aviation fuel and developments in Nigeria’s foreign reserves as some of the gains recorded in the oil and gas sector.
He further said the Central Bank of Nigeria had recently stated that 85 per cent of the country’s foreign reserves came from the oil and gas sector.
