The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, said Tuesday that the federal government has no control over the price of cooking gas.
The minister said this while fielding questions from State House correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari where he formerly presented the Chief Executives of Officers of Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Faruk Ahmed, and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mr Gbenga Komolafe.
He said, like crude oil, prices of gas are determined by global markets, stressing that efforts were being made to reduce the price to bearable level for Nigerians before Yuletide season.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva disclosed this to State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, where he formally presented the CEO, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, (NMDPRA), Faruk Ahmed and the CEO, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe.
Asked what was responsible for the hike in the price of cooking gas and what government was doing to address the situation, the minister said government cannot subsidise the product as it was fully deregulated