Oil marketers have assured Nigerians of a potential decline in the prices of Premium Motor Spirit or petrol as they prepare to begin direct product lifting from the Dangote Refinery.
This reassurance follows a recent spike in prices attributed to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s commencement of product lifting from the refinery.
Currently, petrol prices have surged to ₦950 per litre in Lagos and its surrounding areas, while consumers in northern regions are facing prices as high as ₦1000 per litre.
Marketers expect that direct access to Dangote’s supply will help stabilize prices and provide relief to consumers in the coming weeks.
The Spokesperson for the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Ukadike while appearing as a guest on Channels Television’s Morning on Tuesday, said that marketers are currently in discussions with the Dangote Refinery to arrange for possible direct lifting of petrol.
He said, “It is just very simple. It shows that the libralisation of the market is on course, because there is no way Dangote refinery will be producing petrol in Nigeria without considering IPMAN as one of its strategic stakeholders.
“We were even thinking that one of his first points of call was to discuss with IPMAN and not NNPCL, because we can distribute every single drop of products produced by Dangote refinery because we are situated in every nook and cranny of this country. We also possess about 85 per cent of filling stations in Nigeria.
“So, it is pertinent that Dangote should discuss this with independent marketers, and I want you to know that immediately after we discuss and commence direct lifting of product from Dangote, the issue of pricing and differential in pricing will be gone. What we are seeing here is price disparity.”
Ukadike stated that the independence of IPMAN will help reduce prices.
He emphasized that this autonomy will enable IPMAN to compete more effectively, as they will no longer rely on external sources for product supply.
“But if IPMAN becomes independent, prices will drop. Because it will give us the opportunity for possible competition because we will no longer be depending on another source to get products.
“Dangote also opened up to IPMAN when he started producing AGO, diesel. We entered the market and started buying it, and prices of AGO came down. it was around N1600, now it is between N1000 to N1100.
“This is a deregulated economy, and every stakeholder and player should be given equal opportunity,” Ukadike added.
It was previously reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited had officially begun lifting refined petrol from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
This development is in line with the federal government’s announcement that the refinery would start supplying petrol to NNPC on September 15, 2024.
