FOLLOWING the adjustment of fuel prices at retail outlets by the Nigerian National fuel Company (NNPC) Limited, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) believes that the new pump price of a litre of Premium Motor Spirit, better known as petrol, cannot be less than N500.
IPMAN’s Deputy President, Zarama Mustapha, revealed this today on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily show.
He noted that the NNPC, as the single importer of fuel, sets the price for all oil marketers in the country.
According to him, oil marketers would now lift petrol at gasoline depots at more than N460/litre, add transportation costs, and profit margins, raising the new pump price to more than N500 per litre.
Following the NNPC price adjustment and the presidential statement on subsidy removal, a litre of fuel is being marketed for me than N500 across the country.
Fuel lines have since expanded, complicating traffic in some sections of the country, even as transportation costs have increased by more than 100%.
Speaking this morning, the IPMAN executive said, “NNPC being the sole supplier is the determiner of how much we purchase. The deregulation is just taking effect. May be with time, they will allow other players to also participate in the importation of the product to compete with the NNPC Limited.
“I still believe the NNPC is still the government because it is owned by the government.”
Recall that president Bola Tinubu declared the termination of petrol subsidy payments during his inaugural speech on May 29 at Eagle Square in Abuja. The President stated that the previous administration of Muhammadu Buhari did not include subsidies in the 2023 budget beyond June.
Many Nigerians expected the new price regime to take effect on July 1, yet lineups returned at filling stations around the country almost immediately after the presidential announcement, even as retail establishments hoard the product and raise prices.
The NNPC formally adjusted the commodity’s pump price yesterday adding that the price will continue to vary due to market realities and dynamics.
Commenting on the price adjustment by the NNPC, the IPMAN Deputy President said oil marketers expected that the new price regime would begin by July and not in May.
Mustapha said, “We were not even expecting that such a thing is going to be implemented before the end of May; we were all surprised seeing a list stating the prices of NNPC retail stations across the nation.
“Each state has its own different price based on the location of the station or the location of the state from the source of the product – that is the depot where most of the products are being lifted and subsequently transported to all nooks of the country.
“As far as independent marketers are concerned, as at now, we have not been officially communicated in terms of the depot price today but there are some papers going round just like the ones we saw yesterday that is stating that a litre is going to be purchased at the private depot at the cost of N460.
“I don’t know the exact price but it won’t be anything less than N460, the new deregulated price that a marketer is supposed to buy. Then you will add up the transportation cost and the marketers’ margin and that will come to whatever price the government has announced yesterday.
“About N51 for transportation from Lagos to Maiduguri. So, if you lift at N460 something, you have to add that N51 and add up your margin for you to at least remain afloat in business.”
In the same note, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has stated that the President cannot act unilaterally on subsidy withdrawal, adding that there was a reason why Muhammadu Buhari’s administration moved the “sensitive issue” to the incoming government.
TUC President Festus Osifo, who also spoke in today’s Sunrise Daily program, said the government cannot eliminate subsidies unless palliatives and alternatives are in place. He also noted that the N5000 cash transfer recommended by the government as a palliative cannot work.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has also spoken out against the elimination of subsidies.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily show, NLC National President Joe Ajaero stated that even if President Bola Tinubu has good intentions, alternatives must be supplied.
He added that the President should have inquired about the effects of the reduction of fuel subsidies on Nigerians on the streets.
Among the solutions suggested by the NLC boss were the rehabilitation of the country’s four refineries and the provision of alternate transportation for Nigerian workers.
According to Ajaero, the government cannot eliminate subsidies while still fixing pump prices through the NNPC.
