Nigerians consume 46.38 million litres now on a daily basis, representing a 28 per cent drop from the 65 million litres daily consumption recorded before the removal of subsidy.
“In January, it was 62 million per litre; February, 62 million per litre; March, 71.4 million per litre; April, 67.7 million per litre; May 66.6 million per litre; June, 49. 5 million per litre and July, 46.3 million per litres,” the Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, was quoted as saying.
The NMDPRA boss said that the essence of the meeting was to review the downstream sector after the subsidy removal and also to thank marketers who had taken the offer to import petrol. On petrol importation, Farouk said that over 56 companies applied for import licenses to bring in petrol, while only 10 made a commitment to import.
He said that currently three marketers, namely Emadeb Energy, A.Y Shafa and Prudent Energy had imported petrol into the country. He added that others, like 11 Plc, are also indicating interest to import petrol in August and September, respectively.
“The era of subsidy payment is gone, we encourage all marketers who are interested in importing petrol to apply for license.
“The meeting is to encourage marketers to import so that there will be availability of petrol at every nooks and crannies of the nation.
“The marketers have the choice to fix their price because it is a free market where there will be competition.
“It is no longer Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) dominating the market, there will be other players to compete with NNPCL.
“We do not want any dominant player in the market, that was why we liberalised the market for everybody to play, ” Farouk emphasised.
Farouk said that the authority was working with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), to checkmate marketers from taking unduly advantage of the consumers.
He said that the NMDPRA would ensure consumer protection at every station, adding that the quality of products imported would be focused upon, to avoid substandard petrol.
“We will ensure safety, consumer protection and standard in ensuring quality control within marketers.
In attendance managing directors of all downstream sector operators, delegation of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and Depots Owners Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), among others.
