Amid worsening supply challenges and rising pump prices, petroleum marketers have begun moves to import petrol independently as the commodity moved close to the N1,000 per litre mark across major cities in the country.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Ukadike, confirmed the development on Tuesday.
According to him, members of the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria are concluding arrangements to begin petrol importation as part of efforts to stabilise retail prices.
He stated that petrol prices would soon drop as competition returns to the market, if additional competition is brought into the sector.
“Yes, petrol price is still going to come down because I also know that some marketers, especially DAPPMAN members, have applied and they are going to import petrol products.
“Peradventure, their prices are cheaper than Dangote’s, we would have no choice but to patronise them. The essence of this market is that where it is cheaper, we will buy. But prices will come down once there is a struggle for the market,” Ukadike said.
Petrol prices rose from about N865 to around N950 per litre on Monday.
Checks on Tuesday showed that the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, now sells between N920 and N955 per litre in many retail outlets, while some stations in Abuja, Sokoto and Lagos charge as high as N1,000 per litre, depending on location and brand.
This comes at a time when Nigerians were expecting petrol prices to drop to N841/litre as recommended by the Dangote refinery.
When the Dangote refinery launched its logistics-free fuel distribution scheme on September 15, it stated that its partners and filling stations benefitting from the scheme would drop petrol prices to N841 in the South West and N851 in Abuja, Edo, Kwara, Rivers and Delta.
But when this had yet to take effect in filling stations, prices surged above N900 in Lagos, Ogun Abuja and others.
In the Federal Capital Territory, a market survey by one of our correspondents revealed that petrol sold for N955 per litre at NNPC outlets in Gwarinpa and Lugbe, while prices climbed to N928 per litre at NNPC stations in Lagos.
In parts of Edo, Rivers, Oyo and Gombe states, motorists purchased the product at prices ranging from N900 to N1,000 per litre, amid reports of long queues and panic buying.
The latest spike has raised concerns among motorists and consumers already grappling with high transportation and food costs, threatening to further fuel inflationary pressures across the country.
Reacting, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has blamed depot owners for the sudden surge in petrol prices.
IPMAN President, Abubakar Shettima said that depot owners increased their prices when they discovered that the Dangote refinery had stopped fuel loading for some days.
Depots hiked their prices on Monday from an average of N830 to about N890.
According to Petroleumprice.com, depots like Matrix, Fynefield and Liquid Bulk sold petrol at N900 as of Tuesday. Northwest offered N895; Pinnacle, N885; RainOil, N890; NIPCO, N850; Aiteo, N878; and Sigmund, N890.
Following this, filling stations adjusted their pump prices to reflect the new pricing regime.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited retail outlets sold premium motor spirit at N928 in Ogun and Lagos, an increase of about N50 from the previous N870.
The adjustment also marks a reversal of the price reduction introduced in August, when NNPC lowered petrol prices to N865 per litre in Lagos and N890 per litre in Abuja.
The NNPC spokesperson, Andy Odeh, said the NNPC adjusted its pump prices like every other retail outlet because the depots increased their gantry rates.
“The ex-depot prices have gone up. You know all the filling stations are retailers. So, when the price goes up ex-depot, there will be an adjustment by the retailers. That’s what has happened and it’s across all the retailers,” the NNPC spokesperson said.
In Ogun and Lagos, filling stations sold petrol at prices ranging from N900 and N950 on Tuesday. Dangote’s partner, MRS, also sold the product at N925 in Ogun.
Dangote refinery stopped selling petrol to marketers recently, causing a tightness in supply.
The Dangote refinery has yet to respond to questions seeking further clarification about the development.
However, sources said this might be due to ongoing maintenance or the challenges posed by the mass sacking of engineers at the facility.
SOURCE: theglittersonline.com.ng
