The Best Story from President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration: Are we Aware? — By Caleb Fagade

There was an interesting news in Nigeria that seems not to have gained appropriate publicity; Nigeria’s oil downstream sector has been deregulated, by implication the price will be determined by the international crude oil price. Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) boss has made this known at news briefing but my concern is that most Nigerians are not aware of this development as appropriate. It is understood that the prices of oil products like PMS (petrol), diesel, etc. are quite low now because the international crude price is low.

Are we aware that we may buy it at much higher prices if the international crude prices regain substantially?

The argument at this juncture is that there is a need for major awareness and engagement of Nigerians and the labour groups so that there would not be another set of industrial actions in case we need to buy PMS and other products at higher prices in the future. This is important because the federal government must not pay subsidy on oil and gas products in Nigeria again because this has impeded investment in the sector for too long and the opportunity to unlock the sector is now.

COVID-19 has presented the itself as the opportunity needed to liberate the sector; we must not allow the opportunity to slip off our hands again as we have done in the past. We need investment in the oil downstream sector to move this nation forward and to destroy an important pillar of corruption in this country.

https://dailypost.ng/2020/05/14/buhari-govt-announces-nigerias-oil-sector-deregulation/