The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has agreed to sell Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) to members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) at N995 per litre.
This followed the intervention of the Department of State Services in the controversy between the two parties.
The National Vice President of IPMAN, Hammed Fashola, told our correspondent that the intervention of the DSS solved a lot of problems facing marketers.
Fashola also confirmed that through their intervention, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority agreed to pay the association’s outstanding N10bn while resolving issues about the direct purchase of petrol from the Dangote refinery.
“We really appreciate their intervention. They are doing their job. Anywhere they have seen that there may be a crisis, it is their duty to intervene. And their intervention brokered peace and understanding between the parties, and everybody agreed to work together,” Fashola stated.
Asked to disclose how much the NNPC will sell PMS to IPMAN, he replied, “For now, tentatively, I think they are offering us N995 per litre.”
With the N995 ex-depot price, Fashola assured that IPMAN members would no longer sell at prices much higher than that of major marketers, saying, however, that distance is another factor for pricey PMS.
“Our members sell at N1,200 or so and this depends on the location. I think with the N995, there will be a little reduction. Don’t forget that if you transport a product from Lagos to a far distance, you will pay for transportation and other charges.
“We want to work on that because we want to have a common ground. When we sit down and look at the price analysis offered to us, and factor in all our expenses, we want to have a uniform price as much as possible.
“So, I will not be able to tell you the exact price now, but we are working on it, especially in the Lagos axis and other zones. We will look at the transportation cost and all that. At the end of the day, we will fix the price for ourselves,” he stated.
The IPMAN leader emphasised that IPMAN is interested in prices that would be competitive, saying the price disparity has been a disadvantage to independent marketers.
“The price disparity has been a disadvantage between us and the NNPC Retail and major marketers. So, we are trying to look at how to close that gap so that we come back fully into the business. The lack of direct supply has been our problem, and now that we are solving that problem, I don’t think that disparity will be there again,” he stressed.
Fashola explained that the price differential is the reason for the queues in some filling stations in the cities.
“The queues you see are because of that difference in prices, that’s why people are saying there are queues. There are no queues; it is the price disparity that is causing the queues. So, if there is not much difference, we have filling stations everywhere; just drive in, buy fuel, and go. But that so much difference in the price is creating that scenario of queues,” he narrated.
Reacting to the directive that marketers can now buy petrol directly from local refineries, Fashola said the association would meet with Dangote this week.
“For now, we intend to meet with Dangote this week to see how we work out the modalities and all that. The Federal Government has given a directive and we want to take full advantage of that,” he posited.
The IPMAN vice president stressed that the association is not ignoring the NNPC either as it would patronise the best price.
“At the same time too, we are not ignoring NNPC. So, whichever way, we are ready to do business with NNPC. It depends on the price, we go for the best.
IPMAN had revealed on Thursday that the cost of petrol from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to NNPC was about N898/litre, but noted that NNPC was selling the same product to independent marketers at N1,010/litre in Lagos.
The association, which controls over 70 per cent of filling stations nationwide, kicked against this and threatened to down tools, as it also demanded a refund from NNPC for earlier petrol supply payments made by its members.
The IPMAN national president, Abubakar Maigandi, who spoke during a live television interview on Thursday, argued that the price was higher than what NNPC paid for the product from the Dangote refinery.
He also noted that independent marketers’ funds had been held by the national oil company for about three months.
According to him, NNPC purchased the product from the refinery at N898/litre but is asking marketers to buy it at N1,010/litre in Lagos; N1,045 in Calabar; N1,050 in Port Harcourt; and N1,040 in Warri.
“Our major challenge now is that independent marketers have an outstanding debt from the NNPC and the company collected products through Dangote at a lower rate, which is not up to N900, but they are telling us now to buy this product from them at the price of N1,010/litre in Lagos; N1,045 in Calabar; N1,050 in Port-Harcourt; and N1,040 in Warri,” Maigandi stated.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.