Nigeria: Fuel Subsidy Removed
|
|
|
|
Monday, 02 January 2012 |
Nigeria’s Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) has officially removed subsidies on sales of Premium Motor Spirti (PMS), following a long national debate. In a statement, the agency confirmed it would not pay marketers subsidies for PMS sales from January 1.
The move follows assertions from Government spokespeople during December that no final date had been set for removing fuel subsidies and deregulating the downstream sector. The agency said that providers in the downstream sector are now free to procure and sell products in accordance with an indicative benchmark price that it will publish in two weeks.
The PPPRA’s statement urged members of the public not to horde oil products, insisting the that an adequate supply of fuels would be ensured at non-exploitative prices.
Separately, a report by news agency Reuters has claimed that the removal of fuel subsidies and deregulation has been urged by the International Monetary Fund. The report contradicts assertions from Nigerian authorities that the move is an independent one, and was rejected by a Finance Ministry spokesman. "Refer to what the Managing Director of IMF said when she visited Nigeria. She said that Nigeria is an independent country and cannot be influenced by the IMF to do anything. Nigeria is not owing the IMF. We have not taken any facility from IMF," he said.
PetrolWorld 02012012
|
