Petrol price to rise as FG struggles to sustain supply
NIGERIA may witness a fresh price hike in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit ( PMS), otherwise called petrol as President Bola Tinubu, who doubles as the Minister of Petroleum Resources, struggles to keep supply of the commodity amidst denial of subsidy payment.
As the market gets tighter, marketers are already adjusting their pump prices yesterday as the rate hovered around N690 to above N700 per litre in Abuja from the official figure of N617.
While the pump price has risen to above N1,000 per litre in some states, especially in the North that are far from the depots, president of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria ( IPMAN), Abubakar Mai Gandi Shettima, told The Guardian that the ex- depot price is already rising to between N790 and N800 per litre.
“Marketers will need to add their margins and make profits. There is nothing they can do about that, the price will go up,” Shettima insisted.
But the Association of Nigeria Petroleum Refineries Marketers ( ANPRM) in a petition said the marketers are taking advantage of the prevailing situation. In a petition to the Inspector General of Police, dated May 3, 2024, the association said while NNPC imports and allocate petrol with prices being fixed and regulated by same, various tank farms are selling above N700 a litre, while individual fuel station sell between N730/ 800 a litre, as the case may be.
Some marketers, who pleaded anonymity, said all is currently not well with the supply of the products in the country, noting that the Federal Government is struggling to ensure that supply does not totally run dry.