Oluwafunbi Bello 
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri
ABUJA, Nigeria – The petrol prices should fall as global crude oil prices decline, the Federal Government says, urging petroleum marketers to pass lower replacement costs on to consumers instead of maintaining higher pump prices.
The directive was issued on Monday during a stakeholders’ meeting on cost-reflective pricing of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), organised by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in Abuja.
Speaking at the meeting, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, says marketers should not continue pricing petrol based on inventories purchased when crude oil traded at higher prices.
“Temporary gains realised from inventories acquired at higher prices should not become the basis for sustaining elevated pump prices after replacement costs have declined,” Lokpobiri says.
“As inventories are replenished at lower costs, the benefits of those lower costs should be transmitted to consumers in a timely and transparent manner. That is the essence of a competitive and efficiently functioning market,” he adds.
While acknowledging that exchange rates, logistics and supply chain costs also affect petrol prices, the minister insists that deregulation should not be used to justify excessive pricing.
Lokpobiri warns that keeping pump prices above prevailing market conditions could increase transportation and production costs, weaken household purchasing power and slow efforts to curb inflation.
Earlier, NMDPRA Chief Executive Rabiu Umar said the meeting was convened following concerns over the slow adjustment of domestic petrol prices despite falling international crude oil prices.
“Deregulation is not a licence for market distortion or unfair consumer pricing. It is intended to drive efficiency, maximise value and protect the public interest,” Umar says.
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Edino Chubiyo Cornelius 
Oluwatobi Adu 