Queues at filling stations and rise in transport fares, hallmark the agony of Lagos residents as petroleum marketers increased pump price from N165.50 a litre to N180 and beyond.
By Emma Ogbuehi
Signs of the uncertain developments began to emerge when independent marketers, who started implementing a new price regime of between N170 to N190 at the weekend, insisted that it would be difficult for them to sell at the official pump price.
Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) in a statement by its Lagos State Depot (LSD) Secretary, Akeem Balogun, said: “With the current price, there is no way we can sell less than N180 per litre.
“Members are hereby advised to sell at a sustainable price within their environment. Just make sure that the price is on your pump.
“Kindly contact the Secretariat should you have any authority challenging your operations.”
Many independent stations were shut in Lagos, on Monday and Tuesday, the few that were dispensing recorded long queues.
In Lagos, the queues were most noticeable at filling stations in traffic-prone areas like Oshodi, Ejigbo, Ikeja, Egbeda, Ikotun Igando, Iyanaiba and Satellite.
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Nearly all stations operated by independent dealers in the commercial city did not open to motorists.
The Nation quotes a source in the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) as attributing the scarcity to a dislocation in the supply chain.
The MOWAN source, it added, explained that when there is a disruption of the supply chain, it “takes an average of almost two weeks to get it back to normal.”
He added that NNPC Limited restored supply on Monday, adding that motorists and commuters may have to cope till the early part of next week when normalcy is expected to return.”
But IPMAN National Operations Controller, Mike Osatuyi, pointed out that the fuel being sold in the last one week by independent marketers was a part of the reserves they had.
He said: “Marketers have been loading from the stock they had and we are running low on the product because we haven’t received fresh supply. The situation will be worse if nothing is done urgently and when the old reserve we have runs out.”
But IPMAN Chairman, Lagos Satellite Depot, Ejigbo, Akin Akinrinade, had before the statement announcing the increment, blamed the shutdown of stations operated by independent marketers.
He, however, explained to reporters in Lagos that IPMAN members resolved to shut down their operations because they could no longer operate at a loss and in a hostile environment.
He said the government fixed pump price at N165 per litre even when current realities showed that the minimum price should be N180.
He said: “As you can see, the queues are back and this is the second time we are witnessing it this year.
“This is not because we are on strike, but because we can no longer do business under this condition.”
Akinrinade added that IPMAN members ought to be getting supply from the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC), having made payments of over N1 billion since October 2021.
He said the products were yet to be delivered forcing members to patronise private depots and at the same time servicing borrowed funds.
Akinrinade added that their plight was worsened by private depot owners who “increased the ex-depot price of PMS from N148.17 to N162 per litre.
He said: “When you factor in the handling charge, transportation and running cost of our stations, you will see that even within Lagos, the minimum we can retail petrol is about N180 per litre.
He urged the government to direct the private depots to revert to the old ex-depot price for PMS or deregulate the downstream sector to allow market forces to determine the price.
The IPMAN boss further called for the resumption of pumping of products through the PPMC Ejigbo depot, saying it would enable IPMAN members to get supply at a cheaper cost.
Cashing in on the scarcity, transport operators have hiked their fares. A journey from Mile 2 to Oshodi in Lagos, that used to cost N200 by mini-bus, has gone up to N300. Ikeja to Ojuelegba has also gone up from N2.50 to N300.
