IPMAN denies plan to hike petrol to N700 per litre

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has denied the alleged plan by the association to increase the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, to N700 per liter nationwide.

The Chairman of IPMAN Southwest Zone, Alhaji Dele Tajudeen, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Friday

The chairman, therefore, urged Nigerians to disregard the speculation and not engage in panic buying.

Tajudeen stressed that the price of the product would not be more than what is being sold presently.

He commended President Bola Tinubu for removing the subsidy on petrol, adding that it was long overdue.

“Even in 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 total support. This is because the subsidy was a scam.”

He said the slight increase in pump price was because of the transportation cost and that Nigerians should be at rest as the commodity will not be out of reach for the masses.

“I want to disabuse the minds 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 gasoline for 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 nothing to do with taking the price of petroleum from N500 to N700,” Tajudeen said.

He noted that the product had been deregulated; hence, the differential in prices was due to transportation as it is related to location.

”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 thereabouts, 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 differential in prices.

“I want to say with all sense of authority that as of today within the Lagos metropolis, nobody should sell more than N515 to N520 per liter.

”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 liter; Ogun State between N500 and N520,” Tajudeen said.

Meanwhile, a coalition of Civil Society organizations (CSOs) had vowed to resist the alleged planned increase in the pump price of gasoline.

They made their position known in a statement jointly signed by the Convener, Dr. Basil Musa, and Co-Convener, Malam Haruna Maigida, in Abuja on behalf of others.

They vowed to resist by picketing IPMAN members’ filling stations across the country.

They accused the IPMAN of running a parallel government and inflicting pain on ordinary Nigerians through their unilateral adjustment of the price of petroleum.

They described the planned increment as unacceptable and called on the Federal Government to stop IPMAN's alleged profiteering at the expense of ordinary Nigerians.

The CSOs said the move was economic sabotage, coming at a time when Nigerians are still trying to come out of the “price shock”, occasioned by the increment on May 29.