By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) says oil marketers have commenced the importation of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol).
This development staunches fears that the country is running out of fuel since the country has not imported the commodity since the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, which ended in late May.
The new development is also coming seven full weeks after President Bola Tinubu, during his May 29 inaugural address, declared that “fuel subsidy is gone”.
At a meeting with traditional rulers last month, he defended the decision saying that “subsidy is an elephant that was going to bring Nigeria to its knees.”
Nigeria, in 2022 alone, spent over N4 trillion on providing cheaper fuels for Nigerians, but now, the country’s president said he would divert that money into healthcare, education, and industry.
He stated that he did the right thing by removing the subsidy, noting that his administration operates an open-door policy.
With this latest development, the monopoly of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited as the sole importer of the commodity comes to an end.
It will also allow the state-owned company to contribute to the nation’s purse from all its proceeds, like joint ventures and retail.
This is as it opens the door to oil marketers to import fuel and decide how much other Nigerians will buy the fuel at the pump, with projections showing a N600 to N700 price range.
Speaking on Monday during a stakeholder engagement in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer of the NMDPRA, Mr Farouk Ahmed, said out of the 56 oil marketing companies that applied for and obtained licences, 10 indicated the ability to import in the third quarter of 2023.
He authoritatively confirmed that three importers had “landed cargo”.
Mr Ahmed listed the three companies currently importing the product to include A.Y. Ashafa, Prudent Energy, and Emadeb.
He explained that other marketers would import between August and September.
Modupe Gbadeyanka