Petrol Subsidy: We Can No Longer Bear Cost Of N120bn Monthly Payment – NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), on Thursday, says it currently subsidies cost of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) with about N120 billion ($263,248 million) monthly.

The Group General Manager (GMD), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, made the disclosure at the fifth edition of the Special Ministerial Briefings coordinated by the Presidential Communication Team.

He explained that the NNPC absorbs the cost differential which is recorded in its financial books.

Kyari, further explained that while the actual cost of importation and handling charges amounts to lN234 per liter, the government is selling at N162 per liter.

He, however, said that the NNPC can no longer afford to bear the cost, adding that sooner or later Nigerians would have to pay the actual cost for the commodity.

Kyari, who avoided calling the payment a subsidy, said the NNPC pays between N100-120 billion a month to keep the pump price at the current levels, insisting that market forces must be allowed to determine the pump price of petrol in the country.