July 01, (THEWILL) – The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has denied reports that its members were planning to increase the pump price of petrol to N700 per litre.
Chairman of IPMAN, Southwest Zone, Dele Tajudeen, who made the clarification, urged the public to disregard the report.
He said, “I want to disabuse the mind of the people that they should not panic about it, there is no cause for alarm, we are in control and there is nothing like that.
“So, people should be rest assured that there is no way they can buy petrol more than the price it is being sold now.
“If we look at the price from NNPC retail limited, which is an integral part of NNPC limited, they have more advantages than independent marketers and major marketers.
”So, it was the retail price that they announced they had never given a specific price to the independent marketers.
“However, I have read what somebody put into the paper, it is just speculation, it is not a reality. Nothing like that, I want to assure the masses.
“There is no way the price can go to N700 as we speak, because even if the FX is N700 or N800 that has not nothing to take the price of petroleum from N500 to N700.
”If you are moving products within Lagos the price may not be more than N300,000 but if you are moving up to Ibadan or there about it could be as much as N500,000.
”And if you are going to Ilorin, it could be as high as N700,000, which would account for the difference in prices.
“I want to say with all sense of authority that, as of today, within Lagos metropolis, nobody should sell more than N515 to N520 per litre.
”Though NNPC has given us the price, the reality of it is that what we buy from the market, because NNPC limited is not the only source for our product, we get from private depots. So, whatever we buy is what we put our own margin on and sell.
”But as of today, the highest you can get anywhere should be around N550; Lagos N510 per litre; Ogun State between N500 and N520.”
Tajudeen also said IPMAN is in total support of the removal of petrol subsidy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Even in the PIA bill, it has been clearly stated that the subsidy must be removed. So, I want to commend him for removing the subsidy and I want to say that we are in support totally. This is because the subsidy was a scam.”
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