The Federal Government’s inflation of the pump price of petrol from N180 to N195 has yet to address fuel shortage in the country.
It was reported that NNPC Retail outlets pumps have varied from N179 to N194. Oil majors such as TotalEnergies, Conoil, AA Rano and Mobil, rates jumped from N180 per litre to N195.
At filling stations operated by independent marketers, pump prices ranged from N280 to N300 per litre.
The Minister of State Petroleum Resources Chief Timipre Sylva clarified that President Muhammadu Buhari has not sanctioned any price increase for PMS as against concocted report in the media.
According to him, “President Muhammadu Buhari has not approved any increase in the price of PMS or any other petroleum product for that matter. There is no reason for President Muhammadu Buhari to renege on his earlier promise not to approve any increase in the price of PMS at this time. Mr President is sensitive to the plights of the ordinary Nigerian and has said repeatedly that he understands the challenges of the ordinary Nigerian and would not want to cause untold hardship for the electorates”.
Spokesperson of the Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria, IPMAN, Chief Chinedu Ukadike maintained that the marketers in the Southeast have been informed that the ex-depot price has been hiked to N180 per litre.
He disclosed that currently, independent marketers tool supply of fuel from major marketers at N260 per litre, hoping the arrival of the vessels would stabilise dwindling prices of oil.
“NNPC Retail has communicated to us through their portal and so the product is N180 now, that’s the ex-depot price. Vessels are not here yet but they are anticipating vessels in Calabar port before Friday and also in Port Harcourt port before Friday too, that’s for the eastern region.
“For the western region, there are two just two depots working in Lagos and so there is still a shortage of products but they have assured us that they are doing everything possible to make the product available.
“Once we have product supply, the shortages and queues you are seeing will come down. This is because right now since there is no product, the marketers are scrambling to get supply”, he added.
economics where you have interference shortages will occur and this is the problem”, he stated.
