By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
More trouble looms for Nigerians as the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has rejected the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited
The marketers with over 70 percent of filling stations in Nigeria threatened that they will stop operation if NNPCL refuses to back down on its new petrol ex-depot price of N1,010 per liter.
The spokesperson of IPMAN, Chinedu Ukadike disclosed this to DAILY POST in an interview on Friday morning.
His comments come as NNPCL on Wednesday announced a fresh price hike across its retail outlets nationwide to between N998 and N1,030 in Abuja and Lagos State.
The state-owned company also announced between N1,040 to N1,010 as the per liter prices they will sell to marketers.
Reacting, Ukadike said the ex-depot petrol prices announced by NNPCL showed that the company is poised to inflict continued suffering on Nigerians.
He stressed that IPMAN members will not accept a petrol price higher than what NNPCL sells at its retail outlets.
According to him, the action of NNPCL cannot be termed as deregulation.
He noted that with the NNPCL petrol ex-depot price of N1010, oil marketers who own the majority of fillings nationwide will sell the product at N1,200 per liter.
“NNPCL is selling ex-depot in Port Harcourt at N1045 per liter, Calabar (N1040), Lagos (1010).
“We refuse the price by NNPCL. We cannot comply with the price. We will not lift NNPCL petrol, we are not interested.
“NNPCL will continue to suffer the masses. They are selling N998, why are they selling to us above the price they are selling to IPMAN members at N1010, by the time logistics cost is added, the petrol price will get to N1200,” he fumed.
This portends a looming fuel scarcity nationwide.
It was observed that in Abuja, the majority of filling stations were not dispensing fuel on Thursday.
Earlier, the Nigeria Labour Congress called for an immediate reversal of the latest fuel price hike by NNPCL.
However, the Nigerian government on Wednesday blamed market forces for the fuel price hike in the country