By Abubakar Yunusa

Oil marketers have cried out about the negative impacts of unstable prices of Premium Motor Spirit or petrol in the country on their businesses.

President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gilly-Harris raised concern during Channels Television’s Business Morning on Tuesday.

According to him, fluctuating petrol prices in the last few weeks are constituting potential threats to the survival of businesses of its members.

Gilly-Harris’ concern comes on the heels of ongoign price war between the Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

Following the announcement of a price cut by the Dangote Refinery by N65 at the ex-depot price, the retail price at filling stations affiliated with Dangote dropped from N925-N930 to N860.

No sooner after, the NNPCL also reduced its price at its retail stations, further deepening rivalry between the two dominant players.

Billy-Harris said “In our consistently weekly reviews, we discovered that the size of loss, and the possibility of most of us getting out of business is glaring at us in the face. Because in today’s Nigeria, we have collaborative efforts being made between all the stakeholders, and we reach out to one another to know how the businesses are doing.

“As much as we are making efforts to make sure that Nigerians have product affordability from our end as the last mile in the industry, we also want to stay afloat and liquid.

“The challenge we have is that we buy products at a price today, and before the close of business, the price has reduced. We thought there should be a mechanism by which prices are analysed and ensure it doesn’t impact negatively on the industry.

“I have always said that every business can only survive by making some minimal profits that are commensurate to the price of paying the cost of doing business.

“We are fully aware that the international prices of crude oil and other related expenses are also being reduced. But when we invest to buy products at say N880, we are not going to sell at that price. And if such products become reduced to N840, N850, N860 or even N870 per litre, it becomes challenging how we will be able to recover our costs.”

Commenting on price monopoly in the downstream sector, Gilly-Harris said its members can either import products or buy from local refineries, however, it would not sell products at the expense of the survival of PETROAN members’ businesses.

He said “Yes, we have been in the forefront of always implementing what stakeholders agree. We have the capacity to import our products. We also have the capacity to buy locally refined products. But we see that prices consistently shift up or down, and there is no clear business consultation on how this should be done. That is why we said the NMDPRA and the consumer protection agency should swing into action and be able to work together with other stakeholders so that we can be able to have a stable market and a stable price.”

The house of representatives has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to suspend the increase in automated teller machines (ATMs) transaction fees.

The resolution was passed during plenary on Tuesday sequel to the adoption of a motion sponsored by Marcus Onobun, a lawmaker from Edo state.

In February, the CBN announced an upward review of the transaction fees for ATMs, beginning from March 1.

The regulator said the move would address rising operational costs and enhance efficiency in the banking sector.

According to the new policy, customers withdrawing from their bank’s ATMs (on-us transactions) will continue to enjoy free withdrawals.

However, a N100 fee per N20,000 withdrawal will be applied at on-site ATMs (those located at bank branches).

For withdrawals at ATMs of other banks (Not-on-Us transactions), an off-site withdrawal will attract a N100 fee plus a surcharge of up to N450 per N20,000 withdrawal.

The CBN noted that the surcharge is the income of the “ATM deployer/acquirer and must be disclosed to consumers at the point of withdrawal”.

The last time ATM transaction charges were reviewed was in 2019 when the CBN reduced the withdrawal fees from N65 to N35.

While the latest increase means Nigerians will pay more for ATM transactions, the apex bank said the review was in line with Section 10.7 of the “CBN guide to charges by banks, and other financial and non-bank financial institutions (2020)”.

Moving the motion, Onobun said the ATM transaction increase would impose “additional financial burdens” on Nigerians.

The lawmaker said Nigerians are already “grappling with multiple economic hardships”, including inflation, high cost of petrol and electricity tariff.

The politician said customers are also facing “numerous banking and service charges that significantly reduce disposable income and negatively impact the economic welfare of citizens”.

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“Imposition of additional ATM withdrawal charges will further limit the financial inclusion of Nigerians by discouraging low-income earners from accessing banking services, thereby contradicting the CBN’s financial inclusion agenda,” he said.

“The banking sector has continued to record significant profits, imposing further charges on consumers without corresponding improvements in service delivery or infrastructure is unjustifiable.”

The legislator added that the government needs to protect citizens from “exploitative financial practices that may lead to further economic distress”.

The motion was unanimously adopted when Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house, called for a voice vote.

Atiku Bagudu, minister of budget and economic planning, says the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will not exceed the 5 percent limit on ways and means financing to the federal government.

Bagudu,who spoke on the 2025 budget in collaboration with KPMG on Arise Television ,said stressed that the government will not rely on the CBN to finance its N14 trillion deficit but will explore innovative financing approaches.

ways and means is a loan facility through which the CBN finances the federal government’s budget shortfalls.

Minister said the CBN’s guidelines already limit the amount available to the government under its ways and means facilities to 5 percent in the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
This, Bagudu said, will boost investor confidence in Nigeria’s ability to manage its debt.

“Under no circumstance will the Central Bank be going above the legal limit of 5 per cent, I think that should comport the economy that we are not going to have recourse to,” he said.

“Because we are also going to market in different ways, innovative financing or approaches, the local bonds have been issued, where governments have raised money.

“This represents a statement of intention, just to ensure that those whom we have borrowed from will be confident that we will have enough to meet our debt service obligation.

“If as we anticipate, economic conditions will continue to improve, maybe we may not need to spend after that in debt service.”

On his part, Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, said the federal government prioritises macroeconomic stability, leveraging exchange rate stability, trade surplus, and increased oil production to strengthen Nigeria’s global position.

He added that the country’s foreign reserves have now surpassed $40 billion, reflecting confidence in its economic policies, as the government aims for 7 percent annual growth.

In September 2024, Edun, said the federal government had “exited” servicing its debts through ways and means, a factor analysts often partly blame for high inflation.

In his Independence Day speech last year, President Bola Tinubu said the federal government has cleared over N30 trillion in ways and means advances.