Following the signing of the Petroleum Industry Bill into law, the Buhari regime says it would seek to negotiate market-based pricing for petroleum products with the organised labour.

The executive secretary of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Abdulkadir Saidu, in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, however, said the Petroleum Industry Act does not mean automatic price increment.

“There is no gainsaying that the PIA signals the implementation of full deregulation of the downstream sector,” says Mr Saidu.

“However, it remains worthy of note that the PIA does not automatically translate to any immediate increase in the price of PMS.”

“The current price will remain until a negotiation with organised labour, which will develop a feasible framework that minimises the impact of a Market-Based pricing policy on the masses, is concluded,’’ he added.

President Muhammadu Buhari on August 16 passed into law the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and constituted a steering committee for immediate implementation of the Act.

The committee is to be chaired by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva.

Mr Saidu says the new Act has open a new vistas for the development of the oil sector. He added that the implementation of the PIA would foster greater investment in the sector.

“It will also lead to transparency and efficient resource management, provide a more consistent standard of operations and ensure less cumbersome regulatory control of the industry, among other gains,” Mr Saidu added.

He also commended the federal government for taking the bold step at resolving longstanding hitches such as the issue of overlapping functions in the regulation of the sector.

Mr Saidu said that the establishment of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NURC) as well as the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) clearly delineates the roles of industry operators and regulators.

(NAN)