The Federal Government has agreed to grant oil marketers further concession to access Foreign Exchange (FOREX) at a rate below the official N305 per dollar to enable them resume importation of petrol, according to reports. This was part of resolutions reached at the meeting of an ad hoc committee set up by the Presidency to engage key downstream stakeholders on sustainable solutions to fuel supply in the country.
The meeting took place at the office of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, in Abuja yesterday. It was learnt that the new rate is being worked out by a special committee on Forex in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Ministry of Finance.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had recently lamented that despite the concession by the government giving access to the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA) to obtain FOREX at an official rate of N305 per dollar for PMS import, their members have not been able to do so, leaving NNPC as the sole supplier of PMS to the Nigerian market.
The National Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mr. Danladi Pasali, said the committee which is charged with the resumption of petrol import by marketers will look into how to make the US dollar available to marketers instead of paying them subsidy.
“That FX will help checkmate the cost of bringing in product,” Pasali said, adding, “With all these measures taken, we can assure the general public that there will be surplus petroleum product.”
He explained that the other sub-committees will look into product distribution and surveillance. It was also gathered from the meeting that marketers agreed that the price of petrol should not be increased.
Oil marketers agreed to adopt cost-cutting strategies and for them to look inward and improve efficiency so that they can cut cost and resume imports.
The committee has as members, heads of some parastatals under the ministry, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), DAPPMA, IPMAN, and labour officials.
