The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, has disclosed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has agreed to sell Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) to its members at the rate of N995 per litre.
A report by the Punch newspaper revealed that this was sequel to the intervention of the Department of State Services, DSS, in the controversy between the two parties.
And while speaking to the newspaper, Hammed Fashola, National Vice President of IPMAN, confirmed that through their intervention, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority , NMDPRA, agreed to pay the association’s outstanding N10bn even as they continue to work on resolving issues bordering on direct purchase of petrol from the Dangote refinery.
“We really appreciate their intervention,” the IPMAN Vice President continued. “They are doing their job. Anywhere they have seen that there may be a crisis, it is their duty to intervene. And their intervention brokered peace and understanding between the parties, and everybody agreed to work together.”
On how much the NNPC was willing to sell PMS to IPMAN members, Fashola said: “For now, tentatively, I think they are offering us N995 per litre.”
With the N995 ex-depot price, Fashola assured that IPMAN members would no longer sell at prices much higher than that of major marketers. Hammed Fashola, he quickly added a caveat: distance is another factor in determining PMS price.
“Our members sell at N1,200 or so and this depends on the location,’ he stated categorically. “I think with the N995, there will be a little reduction. Don’t forget that if you transport a product from Lagos to a far distance, you will pay for transportation and other charges.
“We want to work on that because we want to have a common ground. When we sit down and look at the price analysis offered to us, and factor in all our expenses, we want to have a uniform price as much as possible.
“So, I will not be able to tell you the exact price now, but we are working on it, especially in the Lagos axis and other zones. We will look at the transportation cost and all that. At the end of the day, we will fix the price for ourselves.”
Fashola further told Punch that IPMAN is not averse to competitive prices as against price disparity which, he maintained, has always put independent marketers at a huge disadvantage.
“The price disparity has been a disadvantage between us and the NNPC Retail and major marketers,” he explained. “So, we are trying to look at how to close that gap so that we come back fully into the business. The lack of direct supply has been our problem, and now that we are solving that problem, I don’t think that disparity will be there again.”
The IPMAN boss then fingered price differential as the reason queues in linger at many filling stations in some cities across the country.
“The queues you see are because of that difference in prices, that’s why people are saying there are queues<” he said. “There are no queues; it is the price disparity that is causing the queues. So, if there is not much difference, we have filling stations everywhere; just drive in, buy fuel, and go. But that so much difference in the price is creating that scenario of queues.”
On the Federal Government’s directive that marketers can now buy petrol directly from local refineries, Fashola disclosed that the association plans to meet Dangote this week to work out the modalities.
“For now, we intend to meet with Dangote this week to see how we work out the modalities and all that,” he said. “The Federal Government has given a directive and we want to take full advantage of that.”