Fuel marketers have increased the petrol pump price from the official pump price of N165 per litre to N185 per litre.
The marketers who had earlier complained that due to the rising operational cost, the N165 official pump price is no longer feasible, on Tuesday disregarded the government directives to keep to the official price and raised the fuel pump price.
Recall that some days ago, the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), complained that the current price was no longer possible for the oil marketers.
But it was observed that some filling stations in Anambra State capital of Awka and Abuja raised fuel price to between N175 to N190 per litre.
Some filling stations visited in Awka sell at N190 and N195 per litre respectively, while in Abuja, it was reported that some filling stations including NIPCO filling station sell at N175 per litre.
Also, Mobil filling station raised the price to N185 per litre whereas TotalEnergies filling station still retains the official pump price of N165 per litre.
Commenting on the latest development, the spokesperson of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Ukadike, said he was not surprised by the price increase as marketers have to cover their operation cost.
Ukadike said that marketers have been running at a loss for some months now, adding that such loss has caused most filling stations to close down.
“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 situated. These private tank farms owners have made it clear that they cannot sell at government approved price.
“Marketers cannot buy at N167-N170 and you expect them to sell at N165. This is why marketers have looked at the high cost of logistics because diesel is at N850 per litre now and to transport product from these wet areas to dry areas cost a lot of money.
“If you look at Abuja you will see that it does not have any depot that supplies petroleum products. All petroleum products in Abuja, Kano and other northern areas of the country are being taken from wet areas like Lagos, Calabar and others which have seaports.
“The products are all imported and Nigeria is heavily dependent on imports because the refineries are not working. So the private tank farms are now used to supply petroleum products to marketers. We are now left in their hands and whatever they sell to us, we will mark up our margins and sell to customers, the end users,” Ukadike explained.
He added that pump prices would vary from one filling station to another across the country because of where the product was sourced by the marketer, noting that “While those (marketers) in Calabar might buy at N170 or those in Port Harcourt at N162 or those in Lagos at N163 depending on how the tank farm owner got his product, if you include cost of logistics and the numerous taxes government have imposed on us, then the end result is what you are seeing.”
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