Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, on Monday said Nigerians will get used to the deregulation of the pump price fuel, just as they have become used to that of diesel and kerosene.
Sylva told journalists after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja petrol is mostly used by the elites while diesel and kerosene are more important to the ordinary citizens.
The Minister explained that trucks that move food products across the country use diesel while kerosene which is used by most of the Nigerian masses, has since been deregulated.
According to Sylva, a former Governor of Bayelsa State, “look at it, a situation where diesel has been deregulated long ago, a situation where kerosene has been deregulated long ago, and these are the fuels the poorest people in Nigeria interact with more. Why do I say that?
“If you want to transport food from the North to the South, it will be by trucks that are run by diesel, not with petrol. Those trucks that transport food from the North to the South are usually run by diesel. Kerosene is the preferred fuel at the lowest level of our society. These have been deregulated long ago. So, what is the problem with deregulating petrol, which is mostly used by the elite?
“Let us be fair to this country, let us be fair to the poor people in this country. If we have deregulated what they were using, then there is actually no reason why we should continue to subsidize petrol. I feel so.”
The Minister, who spoke on the latest pump price increase and the fact that it was no longer possible for government to subsidize, said: “Let us first agree, that these are not the best of times not only for Nigeria but for the global community. What we have said over and over again as a government is that government is no longer in the business of fixing pump price, that is the meaning of deregulation and stepping back on subsidy. Yes we are very aware that this will result to some increase but why do we have to do this, because it is clearly impossible for government to continue to subsidize.
“The money is not there now. Just take the example of our production levels, our crude oil production level was over 2 million barrels a day, today to comply with OPEC cut and quota, we have reduced production to 1.4 million barrels. Having reduced production to 1.4 million barrels, crude oil is also not selling at an optimal rate. Where do you get the money to continue to subsidize?
“I was just discussing with someone today that we just have to make a choice, if government were to continue with subsidy, it means for example that at some point we may not even have money after subsidizing petrol to pay salaries. You have no choice it is very clear that today things are not as they were before. The earnings of government has reduced by 60 percent and what is happening in the oil sector reflect what is happening elsewhere.
“Our FIRS collection has also reduced because less oil is being produced, there is less activity in the oil industry which is driving the economy. So you find out it is a double jeopardy from all sides. I am telling you if Mr President could have continued with subsidy he would have. But when you look at the facts before us, it is not possible and of course we are seeing some of the effects but I believe that at this point we are still trying to cross the first buck, we will get there, we will get used to it as Nigerians.
“The only explanation to everything we have said is the country just could not afford subsidy anymore. It is unfortunate we are experiencing some of these things now. We will get by, I am sure when things stabilize our earnings begin to improve, we will begin to see the benefits of what this government has done.”
When pressed to say what was responsible for the recent fuel pump price hike, Sylva stated: “Now what happened recently was because of the announcement of a vaccine for COVID-19 by Pfizer. With that crude oil prices went up a little bit. If you have been following crude oil prices you would have seen that crude oil prices went up a little bit, as a result of this announcement.
“So when crude oil prices go up a little bit, then you will see that it instantly reflects on the price of petrol, which is a derivative of crude oil. That’s why you see that there’s this movement and if we listen to ourselves, this is the same explanation we’ve been giving. Like when the pump prices came down, we reduced the pump price because it reflected, we saw that crude prices were lower, so we reduced the pump price when we deregulated. Then when the crude prices went up, it went up, when it comes down, it goes down. That is how it works
“So, that is why you will be seeing this, go up and down in the market place. Now we have introduced the alternative fuel, which is gas because we feel that it is important for Nigerians to have another option, which will be cheaper.”
