Scarcity: Marketers Ask FG To Increase Fuel Price, Says Selling Below N200 Per Litre Unrealistic

The National Operations Controller of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mike Osatuyi, has called on the Federal Government to increase the petrol pricing template to between N200 and N210 per liter.

Speaking in an interview with journalists on Tuesday, Osatuyi described as unrealistic the Federal Government’s pricing template that fixed pump price at N169 per litre when the landing cost of the fuel at the station is N194 per litre.

He said: “I buy petrol at N186.50k per litre from the depot, and it costs me about N9.50k to get the same litre to the pump after paying levies. How do you want me to sell at N169 per litre when I have incurred additional costs?”

“No marketer can sell petrol at the regulated price of N169 per litre with the current realities when landing cost is N194 per litre.

“Those saddled with the responsibility of petroleum importation and pricing should be held responsible for the price disparities at the fuel stations.

“The current price of petrol does not reflect inflation, Foreign Exchange costs, union dues, and transportation.”

He said Nigeria should have a current template that will reflect current realities in the petrol business pending the time that government would deregulate the sector entirely.

According to Osatuyi, there are some cost fundamentals, additional charges, and levies that are not factored into the template currently in use.

The IPMAN controller called on the federal government to open up on petrol landing costs and the realistic pump price, stressing that totally deregulating the downstream sector remained the best option.

“Total deregulation remains the best solution to ending fuel scarcity.

“The cost implication of total deregulation will make the price of petrol too expensive for Nigerians, but it will shift the burden from the government to end users,” he said.