The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has refuted the association’s purported proposal to raise the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, better known as petrol, to N700 per litre nationwide.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, this was disclosed by the Chairman of IPMAN Southwest Zone, Alhaji Dele Tajudeen in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday in Ibadan
Therefore, the chairman asked Nigerians to ignore the rumours and refrain from making irrational purchases.
Tajudeen emphasised that the product’s pricing will not be more than what is already being offered for sale.
He praised President Bola Tinubu for eliminating the petrol subsidy, saying it was long overdue.
“So I want to thank him for doing so and let him know that we fully support his decision to remove the subsidies. This is because the subsidy was a fraud.”
He claimed that the transportation costs were to blame for the small increase in pump prices and assured Nigerians that the commodity would still be affordable for the majority.
“I want to disabuse people’s minds that there is no need to panic; we are in control, and there is nothing like that.
“Therefore, people can rest assured that there is no way for them to purchase more petrol for more than the already sold price.”
“However, from what I’ve read in the newspaper, it’s just speculative and not true. I want the people to know that’s not the case.
There is no way the price can increase to N700 at this time, Tajudeen said. “Even if the FX is N700 or N800, that has nothing to do with raising the price of petroleum from N500 to N700.”
He pointed out that since the commodity had been deregulated, the difference in prices was tied to geography as much as transportation.
“The cost of carrying goods within Lagos might not exceed N300,000, but if you’re going up to Ibadan or nearby, it might cost up to N500,000.”
“But as of right now, the highest price anywhere should be around N550; in Lagos, the price per litre is N510; while in Ogun State, it ranges between N500 and N520,” according to Tajudeen.
In the meantime, a coalition of CSOs pledged to oppose the purported planned increase in the price of petrol at the pump.
They made their views known in an Abuja statement signed jointly by the Convener, Dr Basil Musa, and Co-Convener, Malam Haruna Maigida, on behalf of others.
They called on the federal government to cease and labelled the projected increment as intolerable.
The CSOs said the move was an economic sabotage, coming at a time Nigerians are still trying to come out of the “price shock”, occasioned by the increment on May 29.
