Senate has refuted media reports that it plans to impose a N5 levy on every litre of diesel and petrol imported into the country.
Following the consideration of a public hearing on the National Roads Fund Bill, on Thursday, stakeholders agreed that there was a need to access a percentage of the road funds for the sustainable maintenance of roads from the pricing template of petroleum products.
It was agreed that the charge be pegged at N5 and implemented within the existing charges template rather than a calculation arrived at in addition to the price of the product, according to a statement. This was misconstrued to be an increase.
“This position (accessing a percentage of the price of petroleum product to fund road maintenance) was held strongly since most other African countries have actually implemented an average of N25 surcharge on petroleum products for the maintenance of their roads.
“It was the widely-held view that we may not be able to go that far in view of the economic challenges the country was going through and the need to ameliorate the suffering of the ordinary Nigerian,” says the statement from the office of the Senate President.
According to the statement, the technical committee in reviewing this submission determined that even at a surcharge of 5% which leaves the value at about N11 (at the current price of PMS) will be untenable not only due to implementation challenge that would have require that at all times, the surcharge will mean an addition burden is placed on Nigerians beyond the cost of the petroleum product.
“Rather it was agreed that the charge be pegged at N5 and implemented within the existing charges template rather than a calculation arrived at in addition to the price of the product,” says the statement.
“Therefore, what the Senate has adopted is an innovative and most sensitive approach to eliminate the possibility of increasing the price of fuel in order to fund the Roads Fund.
“Now with what we have the charge on petroleum products for the purpose of funding road maintenance will have to be determined within the charges template as they already existing within the PPPRA template.
The Senate says it is important to make it clear that there will be no one naira added to the current price of fuel as a result of this bill.
“The charge is to be accommodated within the pricing charge template in effect within the PPPRA,” says the statement.
ISAAC ANYAOGU
