- PDP insists on lower price
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has agreed to sell petrol for N123.5, in compliance with government directive.
“The National Executive Committee (NEC) of IPMAN once more commends the Federal Government of Nigeria for the further reduction of the pump price of PMS to between N123.50k and N125 per litre,” IPMAN president Sanusi Fari disclosed in a statement.
“As law-abiding citizens, our members shall comply immediately.”
The government through the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) on Wednesday reduced fuel price from N125 to N123.
PPPRA said the reduction in fuel price was necessitated by its monthly price modulation initiative.
The IPMAN, however, disagreed with the government agency, saying its members will not comply and continue to run at a loss in sales.
The association also threatened to cease selling if government close down any petrol station in the country.
Retracting the earlier statement, IPMAN said they will sell at the new price, “which will further lessen more burden on the masses.”
Fari said the previous reduction done by President Muhammadu Buhari in mid-March affected their members so much that they lost funds which did not go down well with them.
“Most members deal on borrowed funds from banks with interests,” Fari said, adding: “We had earlier pleaded then, that some time be given to us to exhaust the old stock which we did not get any response.”
Fari appealed to PPPRA and other relevant agencies to communicate with the association in future strategic decisions of such nature.
But the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rejected the price, insisting on something lower.
It said: “Our party
describes the reduction of pump price by N1.50k as offensive, fraudulent; a
further display of cruelty and insensitivity of the All Progressives Congress
(APC) to the plight of Nigerians, particularly as the nation battles the impact
of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The PDP insists that the correct price of pump
price fuel is between N80 to N90 per liter, given the slump in the price of
fuel and crude oil in the international market. The PDP holds that any price
beyond that is completely unacceptable, as it amount to fleecing Nigerians.
The party berated the APC administration for allegedly
attempting to delude Nigerians by tweaking the cost decimals to create a
misleading impression of price reduction while fleecing the unsuspecting
public.
It therefore challenged “the APC and its administration to explain how they arrived at the pump price of N123.5 instead of the appropriate price of N90 per liter despite the fall in international price.
“The PDP asks the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to disprove Nigerians by immediately publishing the full prevailing landing cost, the prevailing 3% depot cost, the 3% trucking cost as well as the retail outlet admin cost and show why the pump price should be above N90 per liter.
“It indeed smacks of heartlessness that the APC, its leaders and cronies in government circle are rather manipulating fuel costs at this critical time when other governments across the world are seeking ways to mitigate the economic hardship being faced by their citizens.
“Our party maintains that since Nigerians earlier had to bear the brunt of high cost of fuel in the face of high oil prices in the international market, it is only fair that they also enjoy the benefits of the cut in international prices; an advantage the APC had continued to deny them.
“The PDP invites Nigerians to note how the APC and its leaders had remained silent and failed to support the demand for reduction of fuel price; a development that only points to apparent complicity in this sleazy scheme against our citizens. The PDP therefore charges the APC and its administration to immediately reduce the pump price to the appropriate price of N90 as well as refund the accruable, so far, from the N35 per liter difference and channel same to provision of palliatives to Nigerians.
“Our party also challenges the APC to join the PDP and other well-meaning Nigerians in our persistent demand that President Buhari orders the recovery of over N14 trillion oil money stolen by APC leaders in the last four years including the stolen N9trillion detailed in the leaked NNPC memo, and redirect same to the welfare of Nigerians.
“Furthermore, the PDP
reiterates its demand for the establishment of Eminent Nigerians Group to
manage donations towards mitigating the impact of COVID-19 and ensure that the
palliatives get to venerable Nigerians without any political and bureaucratic
bottlenecks,” it said in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr.
Kola Ologbondiyan.