There have been reports of a dispute between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and independent petrol marketers over a subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). Fuel marketers, who are part of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, clashed with the NNPC to determine if the government was still paying the subsidy.
However, the NNPC has denied any conflict. In a statement, NNPC spokesman Olufemi Soneye clarified that the subsidy on petrol has been completely removed. The NNPC emphasized that it has not clashed with any party and expressed disappointment with the headline of the publication in question.
The removal of the subsidy was declared by President Bola Tinubu in his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023. He stated that the 2023 budget did not include funds for fuel subsidy and that subsidy payments were no longer justifiable.
As a result, the price of petrol per litre increased from around N184 to over N600 in different parts of the country. This removal of the subsidy led to economic crises, with food inflation reaching record levels. Oil marketers even threatened to raise the price of petrol due to the fluctuating and scarce foreign exchange used to obtain the essential commodity.
However, controversies arose regarding the implementation of the subsidy removal. The World Bank criticized the NNPC for its lack of transparency in the financial gains from removing the subsidy. They argued that the gains in net oil revenue for the country were lower than expected. NNPC boss Mele Kyari defended the government by stating that the company was recovering the full cost from imported products.
