Why We Can’t Sell Fuel at N170 – Remarks from Independent Marketers

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) have announced that they will be working together to alleviate the country’s fuel shortage.

IPMAN claims that high wait times at gas stations are due to a shortage of fuel that has arisen as a result of independent traders stealing the product from private stockpiles at a price of about N200 per liter.

This meant that they missed last week’s DSS deadline by two days. Independent marketers can now resell gasoline at N148 per liter, says IPMAN Operations Controller Mike Osatuyi.

Osatuyi announced, “We can now lower pump prices because our members have been given permission to lift gasoline at N148 per litre. We’re dedicated to coordinating with relevant stakeholders to address the nationwide shortage as soon as feasible.

The House of Representatives also requested that the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) work with the Nigerian Police Force and the DSS to ensure that fuel was sold at the regulated price and in all retail outlets.

The resolutions were passed after Saidu Abdullahi (Niger State) brought up a motion in plenary headed “Urgent Need for the Government to End Current Fuel Scarcity” under concerns of urgent public interest.

Abdullahi, who introduced the motion, said that the recent lack of gasoline has worsened Nigeria’s already dire economic condition.

He declared, “Intelligence reports on current fuel scarcity gathered by our securities agencies indicated that there is a deliberate plan by some oil marketers to derail the effort of the government in the distribution of fuel in the country by hoarding the petroleum products and thereby creating artificial scarcity all over the country.

While the fuel shortage is having an impact, some large distributors are selling fuel at a government-set price. However, other smaller distributors who also serve the market have an abundance of petroleum products, which they are selling at unfixed rates.

Most of the gas outlets have caused gas prices to rise to over N300 per liter. Concerningly, it appears that those who benefit from this fake gasoline scarcity are smiling all the way home, and this unpleasant trend has the potential to incite innocent Nigerians against the government.