The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), has rejected the fuel pump prices fixed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) saying that the company could not regulate the price of fuel in the country.
The Chairman of IPMAN Enugu Depot Community in charge of Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu states, Mr Chinedu Anyaso, made this known in Awka, Anambra State capital, while speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Anyaso said that “NNPCL is a private company. They cannot be in business and still be regulating prices. What they released recently is their own price; private marketers’ prices can only be determined by what the private depots are selling.”
He described the price list of between N488 to N557 for the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, recently released by the NNPCL as its own company price which was not binding on independent marketers, but at best a guide.
According to Anyaso, marketers in the South-East zone would continue to serve the public to the best of their abilities subject to prevailing prices at the depots.
However, he condemned filling station owners who were selling fuel at the price as high as N600 per litre, saying it was exploitative.
He therefore called on the Nigerian government to issue licences to more importers and allow them to bring in Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and other petroleum products into the country.
He noted that the current structure where the NNPCL, a private company, was the sole importer of products was a monopoly that would serve the masses no good, adding that only a “price war” inspired by the participation of more importers alongside NNPCL would make the price of products find their natural levels.
Anyaso said that only competitive pricing would address the current problem of PMS and other petroleum products.
