Fuel Scarcity: Nigerian Oil Marketers seek adherence to ex-depot price

Oil marketers in Nigeria have given conditions that should be met in order to retain the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, (petrol) at N165 per litre.

The General Manager, Corporate Communications Department of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Kimchi Apollo, said in a statement issued in Abuja, that executives of the South-West Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria paid a courtesy visit to the authority where they made their demands known.

The marketers requested that, the cost of petrol must be sold at the approved ex-depot price at various depots, whether private or government-owned, as this would enable fuel stations to dispense the product at the regulated N165/litre rate.

READ ALSO: NNPC spends N1.301tn on Fuel subsidy between January to May

They added that private depots were dispensing the commodity at higher rates than what was approved by the Federal Government despite the many challenges in the downstream oil sector.

Earlier, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority had asked the marketers to report depots that were selling PMS above the approved price.

In the statement, the Zonal Chairman, IPMAN South-West, Dele Lamidi, said the purpose of the visit was to seek collaboration and support the authority in line with the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.

However, Lamidi, highlighted some of the problems the members were facing, including; product sharing, rise in penalties, difficulty in getting tax clearance, and high cost of doing business across the country, among others.

He stated that despite all the challenges the association was facing, it had resolved not to embark on any industrial action as a conflict resolution technique, but pointed out that petrol price would be N165/litre if retailers were able to get it at the approved ex-depot rate.

Punch/Hauwa Abu