Kano Petrol Marketers Flout Govt Regulation, Sell Fuel Above N165

Scarcity of fuel has taken another dimension in the ancient city of Kano, as fuel marketers increased the pump price of petrol on Wednesday with several stations selling the product above the government-regulated price of N165 per litre.

The development comes as residents continue to face shortages that began a couple of weeks back.

Although the Group Managing Director, Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd, Mele Kyari last week promised that the recent fuel scarcity would be a thing of the past over the weekend with the meeting they had with stakeholders in the industry and the price remain N165 per litre.

A visit to some fueling stations on Wednesday, in Kano revealed that some filling stations on Airport road, Paniso and Bompai road areas of the city had started selling to motorists at prices as high as N220.

However, at A.A Rano filling station, on Bompai road by Central Hotel roundabout and Aliko petrol station, at Paniso by Jaba the product was sold for N185 per litre.

An attendant at A. A. Rano who preferred anonymity disclosed that the price was increased on Tuesday.

While at Amkar petrol station on Airport road, the product sells for N220 per litre.

An attendant at the filling station also stated that they only increased the price to N220 last week as they dispense for N215 for over three weeks.

Speaking with Mr John Isaac at Amkar petrol station on Airport road, over the purported increment, he however, expressed sadness over the hike in fuel price despite the government insisting that the price remains N165 per litre.

According to him, ‘it’s so sad that I can only afford fifteen litres at this price of N220 and surprisingly, the NNPC keep saying we should not do panic buying noting that the price remains N165 per litre.”

Also at Aliko petrol station on Jaba/Paniso road, Alhaji Ibrahim Yahya revealed that even last week when she bought fuel at the station, it sold for N185 per litre.

He added that ’it’s like we don’t have a government in place again as the petrol stations dispense fuel at the prices that suit them without any sanction,’’ he lamented.

However, the situation is different with major petroleum marketers in Kano as they still dispense petrol for N165 per litre.

However, at Oando filling station by Club road, Murtala Muhammad way round about sells for N165 and same goes with Ardova Plc (formerly Forte Oil PLC), on the same road that dispenses for N165 per litre.

It was discovered that over 90 percent of fuelling stations in Kano and most parts of the northern States are owned by Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, (IPMAN).

When contacted, Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission Chairman, Barr. Mahmoud Balarabe said the commission has been receiving such complaints from residents and would take action immediately.

‘’Initially, the agency saddled with the regulatory of the petroleum pricing, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), ( formerly DPR), told me that they have constituted a committee to check such excesses, but with the present situation, we would have to take action as nothing seems to be done,‘’ Barr. Mahmoud told Naija New correspondent on Wednesday.

However, the Kano IPMAN Chairman, Alhaji Bashir Danmalam expressed surprise over the price hike by his members, and promised that he would find out and get back to this newspaper.