According to the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), in order to stay afloat, its members promptly upped the pump price per litre of petrol from N500 to N560-N617 on Tuesday morning.
On Wednesday, IPMAN President Chinedu Okoronkwo appeared on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily program.
Many IPMAN members, he claims, have gone out of business as a result of the elimination of petrol subsidies, since they were unable to raise funds to load from depots and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
Okoronkwo said with the price adjustment by the NNPCL on Tuesday morning, independent marketers raised their prices at retail outlets to match the reality of the times.
“You need to be in business. If you go back, you will go and buy at a new price. Assuming you are selling N520, then there is a sudden change from where you are getting it, you have to still be in business,” he said.
“Some of my members have gotten to the level of putting products in their tankers, all of a sudden, there was an information that the price has changed. They didn’t load them again. Some are even battling now to see how they can load on that old price and now the new price.”
The CEO of IPMAN stated that the timing of the price increase was not an issue, but that the government must work on ways to offset the impact of the price adjustment and relieve pressure on the currency.
However, Peter Esele, an ex-President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), criticized the IPMAN boss.
Esele, who appeared on Channels Television’s program on Wednesday, claimed that fuel marketers are taking advantage of the situation to increase their profits, adding that it is only morally correct for marketers to sell their old stockpiles at the previous price.
No Respite, Queues Resurface
There appeared to be little relief for Nigerians as President Bola Tinubu declared the withdrawal of the subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, in his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023.
With the news, the price of a litre of petrol increased from N184 to N500 at the pump. About two months later, on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, the price soared from N500 to over N617, sparking rage and outrage from economically stuck individuals.
Fuel lineups emerged immediately in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and other cities throughout the country, with car owners panic buying at the current rate of more over N617 per litre, worried that the price will rise again.
The extraordinary fuel costs coincide with the Tinubu administration’s unification of foreign exchange rates, as well as rising inflation rates, which the National Bureau of Statistics said at 22.79% in June, up from 22.41% in May 2023.
According to the data, food inflation increased to 25.25% year on year, which is greater than the 20.60% recorded in June 2022.
Meanwhile, NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari blamed increased petrol pump prices on market forces on Tuesday.
He stated that when the oil business is deregulated, market realities will force petrol prices up at times and down at others.