The former spokesperson to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Ima Niboro, has hailed the efforts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd in handling the supply of premium motor spirit and urged the Chairman of the Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, to support the state-owned firm by lowering the price of his PMS.
The former presidential spokesperson said this in a recent interview.
In the wake of the PMS crisis, the NNPC has made efforts to save Nigerians from fuel queues and provide alternative fuel through massive investments in Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) projects.
The NNPC said it has also made efforts to negotiate PMS prices with the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in a manner that will favour Nigerians.
Quoting Niboro, “The NNPC has played a very responsible role, especially under its present leadership. Since it became a company, it’s been run professionally.
“But they have gone over and beyond in the things that they have had to do for the nation as it’s the energy supplier of the last resort.”
He explained how the state-owned firm has been “shouldering over N600 per litre on every petrol that we are consuming in this country.”
He said the NNPCL has managed Nigeria’s energy security in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021.
“You know the Petroleum Industry Act made the NNPC as the energy supplier of the last resort, and in fulfilling this role of guaranteeing energy security for the country they absorbed half of the cost of the petrol that you have in your tank for over one year.
“NNPC absorbed over N600 for over a year until it became a problem, and they had to cry out that look we are going down. If they were going to operate like a pure company, they would bring petrol at N1250 per litre and tell Nigerians they can’t sell below that.
“But because of that dint of patriotism, they said, ‘no, this is a company; we have to declare profit, but we also operate in a country, and we have to prioritize the welfare of the people over profiteering.”
The former presidential spokesperson said the Dangote Refinery must also contributes its quota in the country’s push for cheap energy.
He urged the billionaire to partner with the NNPC by bringing down the cost of his PMS in the shot run.
“I also urge our big brother, Dangote, that at this point, it’s a business, but let him not prioritise profit too much. Nigeria has been very kind to him.
“Let him at this time show pure kindness to Nigerians. If he loses a a couple of billions naira along the line, he would make more billions from diesel, petrochemicals, and the over 5000 other products his refinery is designed to produce and sell to Nigerians and the rest of the world.
“A little bit of sacrifice in this matter will not make him any poorer. He must not prioritise profit at this time,” he said.
Niboro recalled Dangote’s Bloomberg interview where he said PMS was cheaper in Nigeria than in Saudi Arabia, which is the largest producer of crude oil in the world.
He said, “Nigerians have always felt that this is the thing that we have now. It’s like having vegetables cultivated in your backyard; you won’t pay the same amount of money for it as those that don’t have it. That is the mindset.
“But of course we know that it doesn’t work like that in modern economics. It is because of that NNPC was swallowing up more than half of the cost of a litre. Let Dangote approach this petrol issue with the same mindset.
“His name will be etched in gold, and he won’t even be the poorer for it.”