Oil marketers on Wednesday agreed with the Federal Government to allow the pump price of petrol to remain at N145 per litre, reversing their previous stance on the pricing of the commodity.
On Tuesday, the Chairman, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association, Dapo Abiodun, had stated that the marketers could no longer import petrol at a controlled price of N145 per litre. But it was gathered in Abuja on Wednesday that the marketers reversed their stance at the meeting of the ad hoc committee set up by the Presidency to get the oil marketers to restart the importation of refined petroleum products.
Sources at the meeting told our correspondent that a communique on the resolutions reached at the meeting would be made public soon, but noted that the marketers also appealed to the Federal Government to grant them tax holidays and other incentives that would help cut their costs when they resumed fuel importation. It was learnt that four sub-committees were constituted at the meeting, which was chaired by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, at the ministrys headquarters in Abuja.
Another source stated that the committees included those on logistics and business conduct, adding that the agreements reached at the meeting would be relayed to the Presidency before the communique would be made public. It was also learnt that heads of some parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources were members of some of the committees.
Meanwhile, the Senate has denied an alleged claim by the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, that the National Assembly is responsible for the delay in the payment of the debt owed oil marketers by the Federal Government. The lawmakers denied any pending request to approve a loan for the payment of the debt by the Presidency.
The upper chamber of the National Assembly stated this on Wednesday in a statement issued by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi-Abdullahi.
(Punch)
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