Mele Kyari: No increase in price of petrol until talks with stakeholders concluded

Mele Kyari, general managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), says the market price of premium motor spirit (PMS), better known as petrol, will not increase in May due to ongoing talks between stakeholders.

In March, Kyari said the NNPC can no longer bear the burden of underpriced sales of petrol, adding that the market price need to be implemented.

A day after making the remark, the corporation said it will maintain the current ex-depot price of petrol, until the end of negotiations with organised labour.

On Monday, the NNPC announced that the price of petrol will not increase in May.

Speaking with reporters after visiting President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House in Abuja on Tuesday, Kyari said the federal government is discussing with relevant stakeholders in determining the price of petrol.

He said the NNPC made its recent pronouncement on petrol price after realising that ongoing talks cannot be concluded in May.

“Subsidy is a policy matter, I am sure you’re aware of this. There are engagements going on within government to get the best framework for having a fully deregulated PMS market,” he said.

“As this is going on, we are engaging all parties and all stakeholders as government and to make sure that at the end of the day, there’s an exit that is beneficial to the ordinary man.

“That is why we know we will not be able to complete that in the month of May and therefore we declared that there will be no increase in fuel price. I have no update in hand now, this is beyond me, but we are engaging to make sure that we have the right timeline.”

Kyari said queues observed in petrol stations across the country are caused by industrial action initiated by tanker drivers against their employers.

He said the NNPC has intervened in the dispute, adding that supply operation has commenced.

“These queues will go away. It’s because there was an industrial action by petroleum tanker drivers against their employers, the National Association of Road Transport Owners around their compensation package and those issues were not resolved up till yesterday, until we intervene to ensure that there’s an amicable settlement between the parties so that they will have peace and then normal loading operations will commence from the depots,” he added.

“As I speak to you at this moment, loading has commenced in all depots in the country, dispatches of trucks are ongoing in all the depots in the country and they have called off the strike for a period of one week to enable us intervene and find a solution. So there’s really nothing fundamental that is happening now.”