PIB: Fuel subsidy stays for now, says petroleum minister

• Sylva to speak on subsidy, NNPC unbundling today

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva has said fuel subsidy will not be removed for now following the signing of the Petroleum Industry Bill into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday.

The minister’s Special Adviser on Media, Malam Garba Muhammad, stated this in a message to The Nation’s enquiry.

“We’ll engage you (reporters) on this at the appropriate time,” he added.

The minister had earlier said once the bill became a law, subsidy would give way.

But The PUNCH reports that the government’s official position on fuel subsidy would be made known today by the minister at a press conference on the petroleum industry law and the unbundling of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

It also hints that the signing of the PIB into law could raise the cost of petrol to as high as N300 per litre from the current N162-N165 per litre upon the implementation of the law if market forces were allowed to determine the price as stipulated in the new law.

Secretary-General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Dr. Mohammad Barkindo, said the new law would assist Nigeria attain four million barrels production per day.

Barkindo, in a congratulatory letter to the President, added the law “will  help harness Nigeria’s potential to achieve its programme of raising oil production to 4mb/d and oil reserves to 40 billion barrels, while also drawing on the country’s vast natural gas reserves to provide clean and efficient energy.”

A part of the message read, “I wish to extend my congratulations to you on signing into law the PIB, which marks a significant milestone for Nigeria’s oil industry and an historic achievement for your Presidency.

“With the stroke of a pen, you have inaugurated a new era for the industry following years of legislative efforts to strengthen the legal, regulatory, fiscal and governance framework of the petroleum sector.

“Mr. President, your signature on the PIB caps many years of important deliberations and detailed legislative work.

“I am confident the law marks the beginning of a new era of growth and prosperity that will be beneficial to the petroleum industry and ultimately to the Nigerian people.”

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) also commended the President for signing the bill.

Its National Vice President Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi added that the new law would lead to the appreciation of the naira and lessen forex challenge in the industry.