By Udeme Akpan
Against the possible return to fuel subsidy burden, the Federal Government may have begun moves to get the organised private sector to implement a shift to gas from petrol in powering automobiles.
An investigation by Vanguard shows that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, through the National Gas Expansion Programme, NGEP, has already engaged with many stakeholders, including the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, and Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN for this purpose.
The move, Vanguard learnt, became necessary as autogas is becoming increasingly cheaper while petrol prices are steadily going up.
Fuel subsidy: Let’s shift to Autogas, FG tells MOMAN, IPMAN, others
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By Udeme Akpan
AS an immediate response to the rising price of petrol, and by extension, the return of fuel subsidy, the Federal Government has urged operators in Nigeria’s downstream sector of the petroleum industry to shift to Autogas.
The call becomes necessary as Autogas is cheaper, about 60 per cent of the current price of petrol, which price could have hit the roofs at about N181.53 per litre, without government intervention through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.
The breakdown provided by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, showed that the landing cost of petrol rose from an average of N143.60 in December to N158.53 per litre on January 7, 2021.
By Solomon Asowata
Lagos, Jan. 11, 2021 The Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) says the Federal Government needs the support of the private sector, to successfully implement the National Gas Policy aimed at deepening gas utilisation in Nigeria.
Mr Tunji Oyebanji, Chairman, MOMAN, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos that the nation would soon begin to reap the benefits of the government’s gas policies.
NAN reports that some of these policies included the Autogas Scheme, which was formally inaugurated on Dec. 1 by President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Gas Expansion Programme.
Oyebanji said: “we believe that there will be a lot of activities in the gas sector this year, both Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).
Oil marketers have blamed lack of access to foreign exchange at competitive price for staying away from the importation of premium motor spirit (petrol), ten months after the Federal Government deregulated the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry.
Nigeria-Press-Review January 07, 2021 to 09:51 2152 APA – Lagos (Nigeria) The alarm raised by the Nigerian Government over the shortage of oxygen in public hospitals as the second wave of COVID-19 takes foothold on Africa and the suspension of Value Added Tax on airfares and other air transport services are some of the leading stories in Nigerian newspapers on Thursday.
The Guardian reports that as the second wave of COVID-19 takes foothold on Africa through its newly mutated form, the Federal Government has been warned of the need to address the shortage of oxygen in public hospitals.
The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Prof. Chris Bode, in an emergency press conference yesterday, warned of dire consequences, as “the mutated form is deadlier and more easily transmitted.”