The 2023 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Tonye Cole, has explained why Nigerian refineries cannot sell Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as Petrol or fuel for ₦700 or less, citing foreign exchange and importation costs as key factors.

Speaking on Channels Television on Tuesday, Cole highlighted the complexities affecting pricing shortly after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announced the resumption of operations at the Port Harcourt Refinery.

The refinery, currently operating at 60% capacity and refining 60,000 barrels of crude oil daily, is expected to complement production from the soon-to-be operational Warri Refinery.

Cole noted that while the restart of local refining is significant, imported machinery and foreign exchange costs continue to impact pricing.

READ ALSO:

He said, “The price being sold in Nigeria is lower than what an imported cargo would land at. As a result of that, most people are not bothered to import.

“So, Nigerians are already benefiting from that. Secondly, the volume of consumption in Nigeria has dropped, and as a result of that, the pressure you used to have on foreign exchange has gone down because we’re no longer importing that much.

“What you’re selling is in naira, naira is what you use in buying crude, so we’re already feeling the impact of that.”