Oil Marketers under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) have described the federal government order to officially raise the pump price of petrol from N165l to N185 as ‘unrealistic,’ given the extremely high cost of taking the product to the end users.
The Federal Government had Thursday announced the various approved prices at which the public is expected to buy the product across the country. According to the government, the pump price for a litre of petrol will sell between N185 in the Southwest/ Southsouth to N200 in the Northeast and Northwest areas of Nigeria.
But, in a swift reaction, the marketers, describing the situation as very confusing, said it was impossible to buy a product at between N220 and N240, pay for transportation and be expected to sell to the public at between N190 and N200
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television programme ‘Sunrise Daily’, on Friday, the Deputy National President of IPMAN, Zahra Mustapha said “The fact of the matter is that we are in a very complex situation because the burden of subsidy that the government is carrying is no more sustainable and the volume that the NNPC for now, being the sole importer of the petroleum product, PMS, has been hit hard, because of that the supply that we receive as the marketers at the loading point is being reduced by over 50 per cent.
“It doesn’t seem that they (NNPC) are bringing in more, if they are, we will be getting the volume we usually get before. Since July/August last year, the volume we receive now is not up to 40 or 50 per cent of what we usually get.
“As of today with what is trending in the private depots, the volume we are getting is not enough. With the look of things in the private depots, I assume it is not enough, because if they have it they won’t hoard it.”
He said due to prolonged scarcity, the issue is complex, admitting that independent marketers do not also “really understand what is going on.
He said, “The fact of the matter is that we are in a very complex situation because the burden of subsidy that the government is carrying is no more sustainable and the volume that the NNPC for now, being the sole importer of the petroleum product, PMS, has been hit hard, because of that the supply that we receive as the marketers at the loading point is being reduced by over 50 per cent.
“It doesn’t seem that they (NNPC) are bringing in more, if they are, we will be getting the volume we usually get before. Since July/August last year, the volume we receive now is not up to 40 or 50 per cent of what we usually get.
“As of today with what is trending in the private depots, the volume we are getting is not enough. With the look of things in the private depots, I assume it is not enough, because if they have it they won’t hoard it.”
“The cost of bringing the products to the public is not going to be achievable at the former price. With all sense of justification, I believe the regulatory body agreed to raise it up to the new amount.
“The price was not done to only appease the marketers but to ensure that the supply chain is being sustained, because the marketers are also in business and you can’t lift a product, resell it and you’re not making any returns on it, I don’t think anybody will continue to do that.
“We’re in a very dicey situation. NNPC imports, and distributes to private depots and note that we independent marketers don’t have the depots. as I am talking to you today, I brought the product from a depot in Lagos at N247 per litre to be transported down to far North at the cost of N50 to N60 per litre. Not the fancy prices we are seeing.
He said that they have made their concerns known to the authorities, that is the regulatory body, and have not received any response, adding that currently, there are so much confusion in the industry.
“There are a lot of confusions in the industry, which the government must come in and address these confusions so that the common man can get the product for the approved price,” he said.