REPORT: Petrol Price Increased Without FG's Approval

Filling stations in Lagos State have increased the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called Petrol, from N161/litre to N167/litre and N170/litre, AllNews reports.

Although the Federal Government has not officially increased the pump price, some marketers have increased the price while others decided to hoard the commodity, anticipating an official increase announcement.

The unwarranted price hike was observed during an investigation by a correspondent of AllNews Nigeria. It was discovered that most of the stations visited now sell between N167/litre and N170/litre.

While stations like Jof Petroleum along Oabnikoro, sell at N173/litre, NNPC (both in Magboro and Shasha) sell at N167/litre and others like Fagbems, Nationwide Oil, Conoil, Capital Oil, Lagos (all along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway) have also increased their prices too.

READ ALSO: Petrol Sells For N175 Per Litre In Anambra

One of the attendants who spoke  anonymously, explained that the management of the station instructed them to adjust the meter, as the government is expected to increase the pump price soon.

“We have been selling from two out of our five dispensers and that is not because we don’t have the product but because we don’t want to run out when the price is increased later,” the attendant said.

The manager of NNPC, which sells at N167/litre, said, “It is difficult for marketers to profitably sell at the approved pump price. We have been running at a loss before now, so it is important for us to make money as the cost of petrol would definitely increase soon.”

In a statement issued by the National Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Ukadike, it was revealed that the marketers met to discuss the emerging trend in the downstream supply of petroleum products.

"We had a Central Working Committee meeting last Wednesday where stakeholders looked at the trends," Ukadike said.

“We were able to look at some of the policies and the introduction of e-payments by PPMC and the challenges therein, as well as the issue of buying products from other private depots and the profiteering in that section.”

According to him, it is not possible to sell at the government approved pump price of N162 to N165/litre at filling stations, because it will be difficult for marketers to make any amount of profit selling at such price.

What You Should Know

On the other hand, NNPC has insisted that there won’t be any increase in February, adding that the development is due to the rise in the price of crude oil in the international market.

According to NNPC, the decision was to allow ongoing engagements with organised labour and other stakeholders to be concluded as regards an acceptable framework that would not expose Nigerians to hardship.
Though the NNPC claims not to have increased ex-depot price, private depot owners have raised their prices.

Also, while it is only some stations that have increased their prices, it is expected that the cost of the commodity will definitely rise in other outlets in a few days.