New Telegraph

PIA: No increase in petrol price yet –PPPRA

Following the passage of Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) has said the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, remains unchanged until the ongoing negotiation with organised labour is concluded.

 

The clarification was necessary to douse the growing tension in some quarters, as the long awaited Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) implements full deregulation of the downstream sector.

 

Executive Secretary of PPPRA, Abdulkadir Saidu, in a statement made available to newsmen on Sunday in Abuja, noted that the implementation of the PIA would not only foster greater investment in the sector, but also lead to transparency and efficient resource management, provide a more consistent standard of operations and ensure less cumbersome regulatory control of the industry, among other gains.

 

According to him, the legal, governance, regulatory and fiscal framework for the Nigerian petroleum industry, the development of host communities and related matters would usher in a transparent, clear and robust legal and regulatory regime that will open up new vistas in the oil and gas industry, and the Nigerian economy.

 

He said: “The PPPRA especially commends the Federal Government for taking the bold step at resolving longstanding hitches such as the issue of overlapping functions in the regulation of the sector.

 

“The establishment of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NURC) as well as the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) clearly delineates the roles of industry operators and regulators.

 

“There is no gainsaying that the PIA signals the implementation of full deregulation of the downstream sector. However, it remains worthy of note that the PIA does not automatically translate to any immediate increase in the price of PMS.

“The current price will remain until negotiations with organised labour, which will develop a feasible framework that minimises the impact of a market-based pricing policy on the masses, is concluded.”

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