The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency should not be solely responsible for the review of petrol price, oil marketers said on Sunday.
Since March 19, 2020, the PPPRA had been releasing guiding prices for Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) after it declared that the downstream oil sector had been deregulated.
But oil marketers under the aegis of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria said on Sunday that the PPPRA should involve other stakeholders while modulating PMS price.
The President, PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry, said a stakeholders meeting involving leaders of the various oil and gas marketing associations and government representatives should be constituted to determine the price changes.
The PPPRA has declared that it would continue fixing price bands for petrol despite the oil marketers opposition.
It also stated that the regulation for Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, had been established in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
The Executive Secretary, PPPRA, Abdulkadir Saidu, disclosed this while addressing questions on the PMS pricing regime, which commenced on March 19, 2020.
Since the introduction of the regime, marketers had expressed concerns over the issuing of monthly guiding prices for petrol.
Saidu clarified that different sectors of the economy operate under the guidance of national regulators.
He said, “The Central Bank of Nigeria regulates the banks and other financial sector operators; the Nigerian Communications Commission regulates telecommunications and the same exists for operators in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.
“To this end, it is not out of place for the agency (PPPRA) to provide a guiding price band with the aim of protecting consumers against price gouging.
