The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has suggested that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) consider direct intervention measures such as adjusting its petrol pump price as the price of petrol continues to rise, increasing the cost of services and food items.
To help mitigate the impact of the ongoing hardship caused by the removal of petrol subsidies, the centre’s CEO, Dr Muda Yusuf, suggested that the company consider selling petroleum products at a 10% discount to other private sector marketers.
This, he believes, is to demonstrate the government’s desired social sensitivity during the transitional phase of subsidy removal, and it is also of great symbolic significance.
Yusuf stated that the government must be seen to be concerned about the social consequences of this reform, regardless of the NNPC’s new status as a public limited liability company.
He, on the other hand, stated that the government should immediately institute competition in the importation and refining of petroleum products in order to end the country’s current monopoly structure of the supply of petroleum products.
He stated that the NNPCL is currently a monopoly supplier of petroleum products, which is partly to blame for the exploitative pricing of petroleum products such as diesel, aviation fuel and petrol, and that the best strategy for protecting consumers in any economy is to create a good and sustainable competition framework.
He also stated that because the new policy affects transport industry operators, the government must consider the introduction and immediate implementation of key fiscal measures.
He proposed that import duty, Value Added Tax, VAT, and other port charges be waived on Semi Knocked Down, SKD, parts used in the assembly of mass transit buses.
This, he explained, would not only make mass transit buses cheaper; but would also enhance industrial capacity utilization of the vehicle assembly plants in the country.
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