Following a dramatic intervention by the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria National Petroleum Commission Limited (NNPCL) have reportedly agreed to sell Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) to members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) at ₦995 per litre.
Confirming the news, the National Vice President of IPMAN, Hammed Fashola, said the intervention of the DSS solved a lot of problems facing marketers. He also confirmed that through their intervention, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority agreed to pay the association’s outstanding ₦10bn while resolving issues about the direct purchase of petrol from the Dangote refinery.
We really appreciate their intervention. They are doing their job. Anywhere they have seen that there may be a crisis, it is their duty to intervene. And their intervention brokered peace and understanding between the parties, and everybody agreed to work together,” Fashola stated.
Asked to disclose how much the NNPC will sell PMS to IPMAN, he replied, “For now, tentatively, I think they are offering us N995 per litre.”
With the ₦995 ex-depot price, Fashola assured that IPMAN members would no longer sell at prices much higher than that of major marketers, saying, however, that distance is another factor for pricey PMS.
“Our members sell at ₦1,200 or so and this depends on the location. I think with the ₦995, there will be a little reduction. Don’t forget that if you transport a product from Lagos to a far distance, you will pay for transportation and other charges.
“We want to work on that because we want to have a common ground. When we sit down and look at the price analysis offered to us, and factor in all our expenses, we want to have a uniform price as much as possible.
“So, I will not be able to tell you the exact price now, but we are working on it, especially in the Lagos axis and other zones. We will look at the transportation cost and all that. At the end of the day, we will fix the price for ourselves,” he stated.
The IPMAN leader emphasised that IPMAN is interested in prices that would be competitive, saying the price disparity has been a disadvantage to independent marketers.
“The price disparity has been a disadvantage between us and the NNPC Retail and major marketers. So, we are trying to look at how to close that gap so that we come back fully into the business. The lack of direct supply has been our problem, and now that we are solving that problem, I don’t think that disparity will be there again,” he stressed.(Daily trust)
