Petroleum marketers have stated that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) sells a litre of premium motor spirit (PMS), commonly known as fuel, at N1,010 to its members in Lagos.
This was disclosed by the National President of the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abubakar Garima, on Thursday.
He said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily that, the NNPCL “collected products through Dangote at a lower rate which is not up to N900 but they are telling us now to buy this product from them at the price of N1,010 per litre in Lagos, N1,045 in Calabar, N1,050 in Port-Harcourt and N1,040 in Warri.”
The IPMAN president said the NNPCL is owing the petroleum marketers.
“Roughly now, they are owing us almost getting to N15bn,” Garima said.
“Our money has been with the NNPCL for almost three months now. Either they sell for us at the same rate they are getting the product from Dangote Refinery or refund us so we can buy directly from Dangote Refinery,” he added.
He claimed “Our money is already with the NNPCL. It has refused to give us the product we paid for and is asking us to complete the difference.”
This came hours after the NNPCL adjusted the prices of fuel at its retail outlets in Lagos and Abuja.
NNPCL outlets in Lagos sold a litre of petrol for ₦998 which is ₦150 higher than the initial price of ₦855.
In Abuja, the pump price of a litre of the commodity went to ₦1,030 from ₦897. In other filling stations, the price of the product goes for as much as ₦1,050 in some parts of Lagos State.
IPMAN while reacting to the development described it as deregulation “taking place fully”.
“Well, we know now that we cannot call it an increase but rather we can call the removal of subsidy deregulation. Now, deregulation has started taking place fully,” he said.
According to him, that will ensure the availability of the product, ensuring that queues in filling stations fizzle out.
“The change that Nigerians are going to expect now: one, we are expecting availability since there is no subsidy,” he said.
“The NNPC is not the sole importer. Other marketers too will participate. It is the same thing in buying the product. Other marketers will buy products directly from Dangote [Refinery]. It is not only NNPC.”