The federal government has announced a N5 reduction in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, bringing the pump price down to N162.44 per litre.
The new price which FG said will take effect from December 14, 2020, came after negotiations with the organised labour.
Senator Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment while addressing newsmen after the meeting with labour leaders disclosed that the meeting had a positive outcome.
He said, “Our discussion was fruitful and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which is the major importer and marketers of petroleum product, and customers have agreed that there will be a slide down of the pump price of PMS and that the price cut will get us about N5 per litre and that the price cut will take effect from next Monday, a week today,”
The minister noted that the price reduction did not translate to suspension of deregulation because it did not affect the price of crude oil but on areas where the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC as the main importer has agreed that it cut costs like freight cost and demurrage.
According to Ngige, the downward review of the price came as a result of a joint committee of NNPC and labour representatives who address the issue of cutting costs.
Both parties equally agreed that talks on electricity tariff be suspended till the next meeting date of January 25 to enable the special committee to deal with complaints to conclude their deliberations.
Comrade Ayuba Wabba, President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), aligned with the position of the minister, noting that both parties reached the agreement.