The National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Abubakar Garima, has revealed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is selling petrol to marketers at a significantly higher price than what the company paid for the product.
According to Garima, NNPCL is currently selling petrol to oil marketers at N1,010 per litre from its Lagos depot. This price is much higher than the rate at which NNPCL purchased the product from Dangote Refinery, which was between N800 and N900 per litre.
Garima made this statement during an interview on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, raising concerns over the increasing fuel prices in Nigeria. He further explained that the price set by NNPCL is different across various cities, with petrol selling for N1,045 per litre in Calabar, N1,050 in Port Harcourt, and N1,040 in Warri.
The sharp increase in fuel prices has caused widespread frustration among Nigerians, as many are already struggling with the high cost of living.
This latest price adjustment comes shortly after NNPC’s retail stations raised the price of petrol to N1,030 per litre in Abuja, up from N897 per litre. In Lagos, the price went up to N998 per litre from N868. The overall increase in fuel prices is the second in just one month and reflects a 14.8% rise, or an additional N133 per litre. These hikes have brought the total increase in petrol prices to over 430% since the current administration took office in May 2023.
Although Nigerians had hoped for more affordable fuel prices following the transition to naira-for-crude oil transactions, Garima attributed the latest price rise to the effects of the deregulation of the petroleum sector.
He said, “Well, we know now that we cannot call it an increase, but rather, we can call the removal of subsidy deregulation. Now, deregulation has started taking place fully.
“But our major challenge now is that independent marketers have an outstanding debt from the NNPCL and the company collected products through Dangote at a lower rate which is not up to N900 but they are telling us now to buy this product from them at the price of N1,010 per litre in Lagos, N1,045 in Calabar, N1,050 in Port-Harcourt and N1,040 in Warri.”
On why the marketers haven’t approached Dangote to get the product at the same price, Garima explained, “We have a problem with that because we have booked products through the NNPCL, and suddenly, when they decided to increase the price, they are now asking us to add more money to buy above what Dangote is selling to them.
“We have informed them to return our money to our banks so that we can go directly to Dangote for our supply. Presently, our money is with them, for about three months. We buy our products from them before loading. NNPC doesn’t sell on credit and when products are available, they call us to pick them up.
“But with the recent changes, we have requested that they sell to us at Dangote price or return our money. That’s the current situation and is the reason for the scarcity. We started negotiation yesterday.
“Dangote is selling to them around N800 to N900 and we are asking that it should be sold at that same price. We can decide to sell at a lower price of N1,020 or N1,010.
“We also refused to buy it because they bought it at a cheaper price from Dangote but want to sell it more expensive than the amount they currently sell at their stations. This is a great challenge because this will mean our price will be higher, and it also means they would have a profit of over N100 per litre.”
He added, “Marketers want to be fully engaged in the business of petrol and its components. The NNPCL has been the one bringing in the product and loading and has an offtake in Dangote Refinery.
“We are now being allowed to import and there is no challenge on that issue. What we are after is to get the product directly from Dangote and not through NNPCL. Currently, they are owing us up to N15bn.”
