Federal Government warns marketers against using old stock to justify high petrol prices

This warning was issued during a stakeholders' meeting on cost-reflective pricing of Premium Motor Spirit PMS at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority NMDPRA headquarters in Abuja. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Oil, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, stated that temporary gains from inventories bought when crude oil prices were higher should not sustain elevated pump prices after global oil prices decline. He emphasized that as marketers replenish stocks at lower costs, these reductions should be reflected in ex-depot and retail petrol prices.

Lokpobiri acknowledged that factors beyond crude prices, such as exchange rates and logistics, influence petrol pricing but urged marketers to differentiate between legitimate replacement costs and extraordinary gains from inventory management. He warned that artificially high energy costs could worsen inflationary pressures and undermine efforts to moderate the country's inflation rate. The minister directed the NMDPRA to intensify market surveillance and enforce pricing transparency.

The Authority Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, Rabiu Umar, noted that the meeting aimed to address concerns about petrol pricing and ensure Nigerians benefit from improved global market c