The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Western Zone, has attributed the increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit to the hike in private depot prices.
Alhaji Dele Tajudeen, Chairman, IPMAN Western Zone, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
Mr Tajudeen, condemning the increase, said that there had been an increase in depot price of fuel from N148.17 per litre to N178 per litre since last week.
According to the IPMAN Chairman he said there is no single Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPC) depots with products and therefore the private depots took advantage of the situation to hike the price.
Speaking further on the development he said the only option for the marketers is to opt for private depots, to keep business going.
Lamenting on the situation, he said “we are totally against the increase because it will affect our profit margins and the adverse effect will be on the Nigerian masses.
The IPMAN chairman said the marketers should not be blamed for the increase in pump price, adding that “selling at N170 per litre is not visible right now”.
“Some private depots with the product, deliberately, refused to sell for reasons best known to them, therefore, our members have no other option than to sell between N195 and N200 per litre within Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states, while we will sell between N200 and N210 in Kwara, Ondo, Osun and Ekiti states.’’
“Most of the tank farm owners have justified this increase because of different charges, among which is vessel charges, paid in dollars.
‘’On this ugly and unexpected development, we are calling on the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to investigate the arbitrary increase in fuel price by the private depot owners.
As a result of the scarcity of the product for the past few days, there have been long queue of vehicles waiting endlessly at fuel stations to buy fuel at exuberant rates. In Akure, the Ondo State capital fuel is sold between N195 to N210 per litre.
