THE Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has denied alleged plan to increase pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, from the current N570 to N700 per litre across the country.
Southwest Zonal Chairman of IPMAN, Alhaji Dele Tajudeen, while denying the allegation in Ibadan, urged Nigerians to disregard the speculation and desist from engage in panic buying, stressing that the price would not be more than what it is being sold currently.
Tajudeen commended President Bola Tinubu for removing the subsidy on petrol, which he said was long overdue, adding: “Even in PIA Act, it has been clearly stated that the subsidy must be removed.
“So, I want to commend him for removing the subsidy and I want to say that we are in support totally, because the subsidy was a scam.”
He said the increase in pump price was because of the transportation cost, saying: “I want to disabuse the mind of the people that they should not panic about it, there is no cause for alarm, we are in control and there is nothing like that.
“So, people should be rest assured that there is no way they can buy petrol more than the price it is being sold now.
“If we look at the price from NNPC retail, which is an integral part of NNPC Limited, they have more advantages than independent marketers and major marketers. So, it was the retail price that they announced, they had never given a specific price to the independent marketers.
“However, I have read what somebody put into the paper; it is just speculation, it is not a reality. Nothing like that, I want to assure the masses.
“There is no how the price can go to N700, as we speak, because even if the FX is N700 or N800, that has not nothing to take the price of petroleum from N500 to N700.”
Tajudeen noted that the product had been deregulated; hence the differential in prices was due to transportation as it is related to location.
“If you are moving products within Lagos, the price may not be more than N300,000, but if you are moving up to Ibadan or thereabout, it could be as much as N500,000. And if you are going to Ilorin, it could be as high as N700,000. That would account for differential in prices.
“I want to say with all sense of authority that as of today, within Lagos metropolis, nobody should sell more than N515 to N520 per litre.
“Though NNPC has given us the price, but the reality of it is that what we buy from the market, because NNPC limited is not the only source for our product; we get from private depots.
“So, whatever we buy is what we put our own margin and sell. But as of today, the highest you can get anywhere should be around N550; Lagos N510 per litre; Ogun State between N500 and N520.”
