By Adeleye Kunle
Oil marketers unilaterally raised the pump price of petrol on Tuesday from N165 to N185, defying the Federal Government-approved pump price of N165, TrackNews reports.
The increase, which came a day after the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, stated that the current price was no longer realistic, resulted in the disappearance of queues at filling stations throughout Abuja.
Checks at some filling stations revealed that, while some raised the price by only N10 per litre, the majority raised the price by N20.
With few vehicles in the station, the price at an NIPCO filling station in Mabushi District was N175 per litre.
Speaking to reporters, a motorist identified as Mallam Ibrahim stated that it was preferable to pay N175 per litre rather than spend four hours in line to pay N165 per litre.
“My friend, isn’t this better?” he asked. Why should we waste so much time just to get gas? Even though I am not in favor of full deregulation due to the impact on the price of goods, the government should have raised the price slightly to accommodate the marketers’ complaints and spare people the agony of queuing every time for fuel.”
The price at the Mobil filling station in Karu was N185 per litre, with no queues. However, the price at the TotalEnergies filling station in the Central Business District remained at N165 per litre.
Chief Chinedu Ukadike, Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, said the development was expected because marketers must cover their operating costs.
Ukadike explained that the marketers have been losing money in recent months, and that most stations have closed down as a result.
“Abinitio, we have also stated that there is no way marketers will buy products from private depots who are now selling at N170 and some at N167 depending on the area the tank farm is located,” he says. These private tank farm owners have stated unequivocally that they will not sell at the government-approved price.
“You can’t expect marketers to buy at N167-N170 and sell at N165. This is why marketers have focused on the high cost of logistics, because diesel is now N850 per litre, and transporting product from wet areas to dry areas is expensive.
“If you look at Abuja, you will notice that there is no depot that supplies petroleum products.” All petroleum products in Abuja, Kano, and other northern areas of the country are imported from wet areas with seaports such as Lagos, Calabar, and others.
“All of the products are imported, and Nigeria is heavily reliant on imports because the refineries are not operational.” As a result, private tank farms are now supplying petroleum products to marketers. We’re now in their hands, and whatever they sell us, we’ll mark up our margins and sell to customers, the end users,” he added.
He explained that pump prices would differ from one filling station to the next across the country due to where the marketer sourced the product.
“While those (marketers) in Calabar may buy at N170, those in Port Harcourt at N162, and those in Lagos at N163, depending on how the tank farm owner obtained his product, when you factor in the cost of logistics and the numerous taxes imposed by the government, the end result is what you are seeing,” he explained.
