We Don’t Have Control over Fuel Price, Dollar, Says CBN

Juliet Akoje in Abuja

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday, said it has no control over the price of petrol and the performance of the dollar.

A Principal Manager at the CBN, Clement Osagie, made this known during his appearance before the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the recent hike in the price of fuel, due to the federal government’s removal of subsidy on the product in Abuja, yesterday.

Osagie, noted that the demand for fuel has reduced by 30 per cent due to its low demand following the hike in the price, occasioned by subsidy removal. He disclosed that $150 million used to be paid for fuel importation monthly from CBN’s intervention.

According to him “the federal government should discourage importation and encourage local production to reduce the current challenges in the nation’s economy. “The PMS market, perhaps it is envisaged that there is no more subsidy, no more bottle necks so it becomes real market enterprise; so more people will come into that business and you will see competition will bring the price down.”

The Executive Director, Distribution Systems of the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency (NMDPRA), Ogbugo Ukoha, while speaking, stressed that market forces determine the price of fuel.

He added that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has however given regulators the authority to intervene to avoid the build-up of cartel, which he said was the reason NMDPRA introduced competition.

“PIA has given the authority quit enormous power to intervene to avoid cartel building which is why we have introduced competition and to also deal with illegal profiteering and more importantly to work with Federal Consumers Protection Council in relation to consumer protection,” he added.

Contributing, the Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Hon. Babajide Benson said: “We are not happy because Nigerians are still hurting, feeling the effect of the pump price increase. What can we do?

“Our job here is to ensure that the impact of the increase in price is drastically attended to and that Nigerians don’t face untold hardship.”