The Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu,on Wednesday, disclosed why pump price of Premium Motor Spirit also known as petrol was raised by the federal government from N86:50 to N145, saying that it was the only way out of the exorbitant prices of N150 to N250. Rising from a meeting chaired by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo which also had other various stakeholders including the Leadership of the Senate, House of Representatives, Nigerian Governors Forum, and Labour Unions (NLC, TUC, NUPENG, and PENGASSAN), at the Aguda House, official residence of the Vice President, Kachikwu noted that, “The reason for the current problem is the inability of importers of petroleum products to source foreign exchange at the official rate due to the massive decline of foreign exchange earnings of the federal government. As a result, private marketers have been unable to meet their approximate 50% portion of total national supply of PMS.”
