Independent petroleum marketers have expressed concern over the rising price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) aka petrol at private depots to N710 per litre.
With the increase, petrol pump prices at outlets operated by independent marketers also rose to between N730 and N750 per litre, which has led to queues at some stations operated by major marketers and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) where pump prices are cheaper at N610 and N568 per liter respectively.
Reports said at the Satellite and Apapa areas of Lagos, the prices varied as the product sold at between N701 and N735 per litre. The depots with the highest price include Bovas, which sold petrol to independent marketers at N762 per litre, followed by MRS depot at N735 per liter.
The lowest prices were at Rainoil depot – N705 per litre; Emadeb depot – N705 per litre, while depots owned by Eterna Oil and Sahara also known as Asharami depot sold at N701 per litre respectively.
One of the independent marketers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “Most major marketers own tank farms in Lagos and they buy directly from NNPC. Scarcity has eased out a bit because NNPC supply mainly to major marketers, but we the independent marketers are struggling because we depend on these major marketers for products.
“The major marketers buy from NNPCL rate of N548 to N550 per litre, and they sell to us at N705; the cheapest is N701 per litre. These major marketers have filling stations in Lagos and other states, but in Lagos they sell in their various stations at N610 to N620 per liter.
“IPMAN stations in Lagos are struggling as we are unable to sell due to the price difference making the market highly competitive. Our people outside Lagos are the ones selling as they benefit from the high price that it’s being sold over there.
He further noted: “When we buy from these major marketers at N705 per liter, NUPENG will charge us per number of liters we purchase, and then we add transportation cost of N15 to our filling stations; of course the price at the pump will go up to between N740 and N750 per liter”
Meanwhile, the National President of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Alhaji Abubakar Migandi Garima, said the supply hitches witnessed in the past few weeks have eased, adding that the situation in the country has gradually improved as marketers have started lifting products from NNPC depots.
“Some of our members have started direct purchase through NNPCL, but the allocation from them is very low and cannot sustain all our members, therefore we have to go through private deports and buy from them to augment our various stations.
“For our members that buy from the private deports, automatically the price will change at their stations, because they sell at a higher rate compared to major marketers.”