The removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has received the backing of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company, NNPC, Limited.
The Group Managing Director of the company, Meke Kyari said on Monday after Tinubu spoke, that the decision of the new administration to scrap petrol subsidy payments is a welcome development.
Tinubu had announced the end to the multi-billion subsidy regime during his inaugural speech on Monday, setting off panic across the country.
Since he made the announcement fuel queues have returned to filling stations across the country, with the product now sold for at least N350 per litre contrary to the regulated price of N185 per litre.
Most petro stations in major capitals across the country have shut down business, commercial buses have withdrawn their services leaving many motorists stranded on a Tuesday morning.
But Kyari laud the decision by the new president, saying it good for the company and the country at large.
According to him, a large chunk of the company’s profit has been used for fuel subsidy which is not good for the country.
Kyari spoke at a press conference in Abuja, saying the cost of subsidy has been a huge burden on the operations of the now privatised oil company.
He, however, urged Nigerians not to panic as there is enough stock of Petrol to last the country for sometime, assuring motorists that normalcy will soon return.
Kyari said: “We have been funding the subsidy from the cash flow of the NNPC since government is unable to defray the costs of subsidy that is due to the cooperation and we believe that this will free resources for the NNPC to continue to do the great work that this company will do for our country, and it allows us to continue to function as a very commercial entity that will work on this development,” he said.
“Secondly, we would like to assure Nigerians that we have sufficient supply of petroleum product, particularly premium motor spirit in our country. And there is no reason to panic.
“We understand people will be scared of potential changes to price of petrol, but that is not enough for people to rush to fuel stations to buy more than what they need.”
Kyari also assured that the company is watching all the distribution networks and support facility.
“We believe that normalcy will be restored very soon” he said.
