FG, Dangote, other marketers in dialogue to check high petrol prices

Federal Government on Monday held a closed-door meeting with representatives of Dangote Refinery and other petroleum marketers to check the current high prices of petrol in the country.

The meeting was held at the headquarters of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in Abuja.

Those at the meeting included officials of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), representatives of TotalEnergies, Eterna, Matrix Energy, the Depot and Petroleum Products Retailers Association of Nigeria (DPRP), Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN).

Others are representatives of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), and officials of the NMDPRA also attended the meeting.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Rabiu Umar, the Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, said the gathering was held on the directive of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri to find ways of redressing the current high prices of petrol in the country long after the end of the Middle East crisis and consequent drop in the internal crude oil prices.

“We have witnessed a welcome easing of those tensions, which has driven a downward shift and moderation in global crude oil prices,” he said.

Rabiu said that the current high prices of petrol in Nigeria was a challenge to government and government was determined to bring down the prices.

He, however, said government would not impose prices on marketers, but to work with stakeholders. “We want to engage in an open, transparent, and solution-oriented dialogue.

“We want to hear your challenges, discuss market surveillance, look into inventory management, and align on how we can collectively accelerate key mechanisms like the National Strategic Stock (NSS) to protect our national energy security,” he said.