·As marketers retain old prices
At the backdrop of a fresh controversy over lifting of petrol from Dangote Refinery, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, has said it is still negotiating with the refinery on terms for the lifting.
President of the Refibery, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has alleged that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, along with other petroleum marketers have been importing petrol from other refineries outside the country while refusing to come to his facility to lift products.
Dangote added that his refinery has 500 million litres of petrol in storage, sufficient for domestic needs.
But the Public Relations Officer of IPMAN, Chief Chinedu Ukadike, told Vanguard that the independent marketers have not yet begun direct sourcing from the Dangote Refinery, adding that talks with the refinery are ongoing.
He stated: "We haven't received products from Dangote Refinery yet, but the processes are underway, and I'll update you once they're finalized."
He added, "The product isn't available to independent marketers yet. I think he (Dangote) is adopting a systematic marketing approach, but our discussions are progressing."
In a related development, he noted that the hike in pump price of petrol by NNPCL two days ago should not be a surprise to the people because of market forces.
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He stated: "People shouldn't be surprised. Deregulation is driven by demand and supply factors, and your supply source will dictate the selling price."
Meanwhile, despite the N30 per litre pump price mark up (a 3% hike) to N1, 060 per litre in Abuja, marketers have largely maintained their October, 2024 prices.
Checks by Vanguard in the nation's capital showed that major marketers, such as Conoil and TotalEnergies, continued to sell at N1,109, while others like NIPCO (N1,115), Adova Plc (N1,125), and most independent marketers (N1,150-N1,230) have kept the prices set at the beginning of October.
NNPC had previously raised petrol prices by 14.8% on October 9, 2024, increasing the rate from N897 to N1, 030 per litre following the Federal Government's decision to end the petrol subsidy. This increase contradicted expectations that the "crude-for-Naira" deal between the Federal Government and Dangote Refinery would reduce pump prices starting October 1, 2024.
The latest hike came on the heels of a previous price jump on September 3, 2024, when NNPC raised the petrol price by 45% from N617 to N897 per litre.
