Nigerians heave a sigh of relief as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC’s) intervention slashes the price of diesel, making it readily available, Victoria Ayuwei reports.
“Since January this year, we have worked very hard with relevant stakeholders to improve distribution from refinery depots, by implementing a robust loading programme, said Ndu Ughamadu,Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
He revealed that the Baru led corporation has crashed the price of diesel by 42 per cent.
In a statement in Abuja on Sunday, Ughamadu said diesel also known as Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), had a huge downslide over the last six months, following key strategic interventions by NNPC.
“In the first quarter of 2017, retail prices of AGO, which is one of the deregulated products, shot to an all-time high of N300 per litre in major demand centres across the country.
“Such unpleasant situation placed a huge burden on truck drivers, who need the product for transporting their vehicles; and the nation’s manufacturing sector, which requires it to run its operations.
“It also affected the masses, who need it for household power generation.”
He explained that following strategic intervention by NNPC in the supply of diesel, the product’s retail prices as at the end of May ranged from N175 to N200 across the country (a significant price drop of about 42 per cent).
“Ex-depot prices also dropped to between N135 and N155,” Ughamadu said.
He explained that some of the corporation’s strategic interventions include improving the supply of AGO and remodelling of the product distribution to address sufficiency issues across the country.
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