By Patrick Andrew Abuja
Th e Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has crashed the price of Automative Gas Oil (AGO from about 42 percent nationwide ensuring that the price drops by N25. Th e corporation said the drop follows its strategic intervention eff orts towards sustained improvement in the supply of the
product. It said it is a swift reaction to the product’s retail prices as at the end of May 2017 which had ranged from N175 to N200 across the country (a signifi cant price drop of about 42%), while ex-depot prices also dropped to between N135 and N155. A statement signed by th
corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Aff airs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, recalled that in the fi rst quarter 2017, retail prices of AGO, which is one of the deregulated products, shot to an all-time high of N300/litre in major demand centres across the country. Speaking further, Ughamadu, said some of the corporation’s strategic interventions in this regard include improving the supply of AGO and remodelling of the product distribution to address suffi ciency issues across the country. “Since January this year, we have worked very hard with
relevant stakeholders to improve distribution from refi nery depots, by implementing a robust loading programme.” Similarly, the statement said in its quest to enhance effi cient distribution of AGO, the Corporation was able to resuscitate its critical pipelines and depots in places such as Atlas CoveMosimi, Port-Harcourt Refi nery-Aba and Kaduna Refi nery-Kano. Eff orts are also ongoing to revamp and commission other critical pipelines across the country. Ughamdu also noted that the corporation has engaged critical downstream stakeholders where salient issues were raised and duly addressed stressing that it was robust engagements aimed at enhanced supply and distribution of diesel. Th ese stakeholders include: Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) as well as Independent Petroleum Marketers. NNPC also said that as a result of consistent positive engagement with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the corporation equally extended the expansion of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) Foreign Exchange Intervention Scheme to accommodate Diesel and Aviation Fuel. “Th e general public is hereby assured that the Corporation would continue to ensure seamless supply and distribution of diesel and other petroleum products across the country to make the lives of Nigerians better,” Ughamadu said.
