Without the current gasoline subsidy, the true importation and retail cost would be N410 per litre as market conditions drive the price to quadruple that of the N170 pump price, according to Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives hosted the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Summit in Abuja, where he made this statement yesterday.
He remarked, “You cannot purchase petrol for 170 Naira when your true cost is triple that amount. For instance, in order to guarantee N165 at the pump when PMS enters the country, we transfer to marketers at N113 per litre. As a result, you must sell to them at N113 in order to be able to provide at N165.
“That implies that, regardless of the cost, any amount beyond that value is a subsidy. It must be paid for by someone. Around the world, everyone is aware of the cost of PMS. At the current exchange rate of N445 there is nowhere you can land a litre of PMS to the pumps; it is not conceivable.
