The Federal Government is reportedly set to allow Aliko ?angote’s refinery to fix petrol prices.
This is according to a report from Bloomberg.
Recall that the ?angote Refinery on Tuesday began the production of long-awaited petrol, a development that is a major milestone in Nigeria’s energy sector. Since then, many Nigerians have been keen to find out the price at which the businessman will sell his petrol.
However, Aliko ?angote has stated that it is not his role to set petrol prices; he will leave that responsibility to the Federal Government, saying it is primary focus is to ensure that petrol is available.
But Bloomberg reports that the ?angote Refinery, located in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos, with the approval of the Federal Government, will begin setting prices for petroleum marketers starting next month (October).
This marks a significant departure from the current practice where the state-owned NNPC Ltd. has been the sole price setter. Previously, NNPC sold gasoline below market value to mitigate price increases, but it recently raised the price to align more closely with market rates.
Government officials have indicated that ?angote’s Refinery will determine its own pricing strategy, and oversight will be limited to ensuring product quality and preventing exploitation.
“?angote Refinery will certainly not sell their products below market value as a business that was set up to make profit,” a government spokesman, Temitope Ajayi, told Bloomberg. “I don’t see how NNPCL or the Federal Government will control price for a private business”, he said. Another source said: “Going forward, petrol marketers will be allowed to buy products directly from the ?angote Refinery”.
The shift comes amid widespread gasoline shortages and substantial debts incurred by NNPCL, which has disrupted supply.
The ?angote Refinery is projected to produce around 330,000 barrels of gasoline daily, surpassing 1% of global demand, potentially stabilizing the local market and reducing Nigeria’s dependency on imports.
