The agency responsible for regulating petroleum prices in the oil sector, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, has revealed why marketers were allowed to fix the price within the new price band of N145, explaining that it was because of extreme difficulties faced by importers in sourcing foreign exchange, forex.
In a statement signed by its Acting Executive Secretary, Mrs. Sotonye Iyoyo, the PPPRA pointed out that importers will henceforth be permitted to source for their foreign exchange requirements from secondary sources so as to meet the Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, otherwise known as petrol, consumption demand of the country.
It declared that the new price band for PMS shall, with immediate effect, be at a maximum of N145 per litre, noting, however, that NNPC retail stations on the outskirts of major cities were advised to sell at a price lower than N145 per litre.
“We are conscious of the difficulties that Nigerians have been going through in the last few months, and to ameliorate this situation, we shall continue to modulate pricing in accordance with prevailing market dynamics, thereby ensuring fair value to all citizens,” Iyoyo said.
