Petroleum Price Hike: CBN Has No Control Over Price Of PMS, Forex –Osagie

The Central Bank of Nigeria CBN, on Wednesday said it has little or no control over the price of either Premium Mo­tor Spirit (PMS) or the dollar.

A Principal Manager with the apex bank, Mr Osagie Clement, disclosed this when he appeared before the House of Representatives ad hoc com­mittee investigating the recent hike in the price of fuel.

- Advertisement -

READ ALSO:  Oyetola, Lalong, 17 others make Tinubu’s new ministerial list

Mr. Clement stated that the demand for PMS has gone down by 30 percent due to its low demand following the hike in the price.

He said on a monthly basis, 150 million dollars is being de­ployed to PMS importation from CBN intervention and urged the federal government to discourage importation and encourage local produc­tion, which he said would re­duce the current challenges in the nation’s economy.

- Advertisement -

He however expressed op­timism that there are positive times ahead in the next four months for forex to benefit the Nation’s economy.

According to him: “The PMS market, perhaps it is en­visaged that there is no more subsidy, no more bottle necks so it becomes a real market en­terprise so more people will come into that business and you see competition will bring the price down .

Also speaking the ad hoc committee, The Executive Director distribution systems of the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regu­latory Agency (NMDPRA) Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, explained that the market forces of demand and supply determine what the prices of products would be.

He stated that, the Petro­leum Industry Act PIA, has however given regulators the authority to intervene to avoid cartel building, which is why the agency introduced competition to also deal with illegal profiteering.

According to him, “PIA has given the authority quite enormous power to intervene to avoid cartel building which is why we have introduced competition and to also deal with illegal profiteering and more importantly to work with the Federal Consumers protection Council in relation to consumer protection,” he added.