The federal government has once again stated that the petrol pump price remains N162 per litre, adding that it is having discussions with the Nigeria Labour Congress and other stakeholders regarding full deregulation.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, told journalists on Tuesday in Lagos on the sidelines of the 2021 first quarter ministerial meeting of the chief executives of agencies under his ministry.

Speaking on some marketers selling petrol above the approved N162, the minister said, “That’s unfortunate. We hear that. 

“I should be asking what the DPR is doing about it. Definitely, there is no fuel (price) increment. I’ve announced that. The price remains N162 per litre.”

Instead, he revealed that the government was holding a series of discussions with the NLC and all relevant stakeholders. According to him, the federal government will decide whether to fully deregulate the oil sector after the parleys. 

According to ThisDay, Mr Sylva also announced the bid round for the award of 57 marginal oilfields, won by 161 of the bidding companies. The 161 successful bidders emerged from a pool of over 600 indigenous oil companies that jostled for the 57 marginal fields in the process that commenced in June 2020.

“The process has been concluded. Letters have gone out, and people have started paying their signature bonuses. We have received almost 50 per cent of signature bonuses already.

“One hundred and sixty-one companies were allocated marginal fields, and I will not give you the details of how many have paid. I’ve told you that up to 50 per cent of those winners have paid,” he stated.

The minister pointed out that the bidding process was transparent.

“I think this is the best we could have got clearly. If you followed the processes, we published, people applied, companies were pre-qualified, and companies went to the data room, and of course, assessment of their bids was done by competent people.

“There were consultants involved in the whole process, and bidders emerged, and that’s all I can say. It was a very transparent process, and I think a lot of people are also hailing the process,” he explained.