The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has fixed the regulatory price of kerosene at N150 per litre, a benchmark far below the N280 current average market price of the product in most part of Nigeria.
The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, in September reported that national average price of the product in the month of August 2016 was N298.2 per litre.
Announcing the price ceiling last weekend during a courtesy visit to the Governor of Ogun State, Mr. Ibikunle Amosun in Abeokuta, Group Managing Director of NNPC Dr. Maikanti Baru, called on petroleum marketers not to sell the commodity above the price.
Baru stated that the issues surrounding the scarcity of kerosene had been addressed, while he disclosed that presently, all NNPC retail and mega stations had been supplied with kerosene and are selling at N150 per litre.
The struggle to buy Kerosene, an household commodity for cooking, becomes more challenging even at a NNPC petrol Station in Lagos.
He said, “I am calling on other marketers to emulate NNPC by selling kerosene at maximum of N150 per litre, which also provides sufficient margin for them to do so.”
He further stated that the NNPC is committed to promoting the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) as an alternative choice for home cooking. Furthermore, Baru disclosed that the ongoing Escravos-to-Lagos Pipeline System 2 (ELPS 2) project would be completed by the last quarter of this year.
He said the project, when completed, would boost gas supply and guarantee a significant improvement in power supply across the country.
According to him, the 36-inch and 342-kilometer gas pipeline project would double the capacity of the existing ELPS, thereby, improving gas supply to Ogun State and environs.
