The price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, has increased in parts of the country after marketers adjusted their pumps to reflect the new price yesterday.
This measure by marketers stems from the rising cost of diesel which has disrupted distribution of products across the country.
LEADERSHIP reports that due to infrastructure challenges and inadequate depot facilities especially in the Northern part of the country, marketers rely mostly in trucking petroleum products to their service stations from long distances. The trucks run on diesel.
In Abuja, the country’s capital, queues have emerged at petroleum dispensing outlets while street urchins have taken advantage of the situation to sell the product at the black market at NN625.
President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo, blamed the situation on the high cost of diesel.
He said, “On my way to Port Harcourt (Monday), my driver drove into a filling station and I observed a minor pump adjustment and when I inquired I was told that the adjustment is to cover operational costs because marketers pay higher now to truck operators and also to run our generators.”
Okoronkwo explained that the adjustment was due to rise in operational costs to enable marketers recover expenses instead of them shutting operations and throwing the country into chaos.
However, in Lagos, the situation is normal as most filling stations are selling at normal price without hiccups.
At AP and Total in Maryland, MRS in Ikeja, and Conoil at the local airport, and other major stations on the Island, sales were going on without vehicular queues.
Also, there is no traffic congestion in the city.
A few marketers, who spoke to LEADERSHIP on condition of anonymity, said Automotive Gas Oil, AGO, also known as diesel, is still selling at over N1,000/litre despite the announcement of the Federal Government that it had removed Value Added Tax, VAT, on the commodity.
Our investigation showed that depots were selling to marketers at between N970 and N990 per litre while outlets sold at between N1,000 and N1,100/litre as of yesterday.
Though many filling stations lacked the product, as they blamed this on the high price of diesel, importers confirmed availability of the product.
Marketers said they were aware of the decision of the government to remove VAT on diesel, but said it had not affected the price.
Information and national orientation minister, Mohammed Idris, had disclosed the federal government’s decision to remove VAT on diesel after a meeting between government officials and labour unions over the latter’s planned industrial action.
While one of Labour’s demands is to cushion the rising cost of transportation via the use of alternative energy sources, the minister said the government is “committed to fast-tracking the provision of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses to ease public transportation difficulties associated with the removal of PMS subsidy.”
The fuel situation in Imo State remained normal as fuel stations in the state still sold between N630 and N650 per litre.
The director of Ukoromi Filling Station, Chief Prosper Uzondu, described the situation as tough as they find it difficult to make profit due to low patronage and cost of purchasing the product at the depot.
In his contribution, the deputy president, Owerri Chambers of Commerce, Chief Charles Okeke, said government is not run on adhoc basis, and advised governments across the country to always think through policies before implementation
Chief Okeke revealed that many of the citizenry had parked their vehicles and now commute via public transport.
Meanwhile, there appears to be confusion in the petroleum industry, following the return of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) three months after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had pronounced it ‘gone’.
The oil marketers last week confirmed that the federal government had restored subsidy for petrol, even as the GCEO of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, has said the Tinubu administration has not reinstated fuel subsidy.
Fuel Sells For N700/litre In Sokoto
Long queue is gradually returning to filling stations in Sokoto State as sudden scarcity and increase in price beyond government approved selling price in now the order of the.
The few filling stations owned by the independent marketers were selling between N680 and N700 per litre which is beyond government official price.
It’s N650 Per Litre In Gombe
In Gombe State, price of petrol has increased from N615 per litre to NN650 per litre in private filling stations even as NNPC stations were closed.
The development followed the scarcity of the commodity in the state that led to the locking down of most of the filling stations across the state capital.
LEADERSHIP observed that on Monday night, fuel was not available in most parts of the Gombe metropolis thereby reducing vehicular movements including that of commercial motorcycles, tricycles and causing transportation difficulties.
However on Tuesday, the fuel was available in few stations who sold it at N650 per litre, the situation that further hiked the fares charged by commercial motorcyclists.
Fuels Stations Shut in Kebbi
The situation in Birnin Kebbi, the Kebbi state capital, was tough as all the filling stations owned by independent marketers were shut yesterday.
Our correspondent gathered that only two filling stations belonging to NNPC mega stations were attending commercial vehicles and motorcycles at N615 per litre.
The Kebbi State government has summoned the independent Marketers Association, IPMAN, officials in the state for a crucial meeting in order to solve the situation, it was learnt.
The commissioner of information and culture, Alhaji Yakubu Ahmed, told journalists that vital issues were discussed between the government and officials of IPMAN.
According to him, the filling stations owned by the marketers would soon be open on a daily basis but at an amount different from the mega stations.
Delta Stable, No Panic Buying
The fuel situation in Delta state is stable and there is nothing like panic buying nor queues in any petrol stations in Asaba and the entire Delta State.
The product is sold at between N600 and N650.00 per litre among the major independent marketers like NNPCL, Matrix, and other sub marketers.
In Niger state PMS sold at between N620 and N640 per litre in most of the fuel stations visited.
It was discovered that most independent marketers sold at N640 while major marketers sold at N620.
Some of the fuel station attendants interviewed confirmed that the changes in pump price started Monday’s night.
No Queues in Jigawa, PMS Sold At N660
In Jigawa State so far there are no queues in most of the filling stations visited in Dutse, the state capital, and other neighboring local governments. The pump price of petroleum remained at ₦620 per litre in NNPC Mega stations and other major marketers filling stations, while in other filling stations, the pump price differed, with some selling at N635 per litre and others at N660 per litre.
In apparent anticipation of the new price regime for PMS, most filling stations in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital, closed shops, while some that opened for business slightly adjusted the unit price upward, LEADERSHIP checks revealed yesterday.
Our Correspondent gathered the price adjustment peaked at N625 per litre in most of the filling stations operated by independent markers, while the big players in the sector including Rainoil, Oando and others sold the product at N610/per litre
Although transportation cost which had hitherto been raised by 100 percent at the period of President Bola Tinubu’s inaugural announcement of the removal of fuel subsidy, checks revealed that despite the current panic in the sector, costs of intra and inter-city fares remain stable in the state.
PMS Price Unchanged in PH
The pump price of premium motor spirit (PMS) in most filling stations in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, has remained at N595 per litre.
LEADERSHIP observed that there were also no queues at filling stations in the state capital and environs.
Scarcity, Price Hike in Katsina
In Katsina State only few filling stations were seen selling fuel at N640 and N645.
Other stations had been shut for over two weeks due to scarcity of the product.
Nigeria Imports 23 Billion Litres Of Petrol In One Year
Meanwhile, Nigeria has imported a total of about 23.5 billion litres of PMS, also known as petrol, in the past year alone, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) revealed yesterday.
Chief executive of the NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, who made this known, said the country’s average daily truck-out over a period of eight years stood at over 55 million litres per day, with a peak of 66.7 million litres recorded in 2022.
Speaking at the ongoing 2023 PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Summit in Abuja, yesterday, Ahmed who was represented by executive director, Corporate Services & Administration, NMDPRA, Bashir Sadiq, said the Nigerian government expended more than N4 trillion on PMS subsidy in 2022 alone, which amounted to about 20 per cent of Fiscal Budget for the year, presented a strain on the fiscal viability of the government, and became a major obstacle to inclusive participation in downstream petroleum sector.
“The subsidy bill ballooned to over N400 billion monthly, making it unsustainable in the short to medium term. The subsidy regime also encouraged inefficiency, waste, and environmental pollution, hindering the country’s alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of providing cleaner energy,” he said.
According to him, the removal of fuel subsidies and migration to a full market-based pricing for petroleum products was a necessary step to attain a transparent mid and downstream value chain for petroleum products supply.
Ahmed also said that the NMDPRA is pivotal in the implementation of all relevant regulatory frameworks required for the sector, including the issuance of critical regulations, emplacement of new licence regimes, and enhanced monitoring regimes of technical, operational, and commercial activities.
[Leadership]