Marketers justify selling petrol above N86.50

The reason why many filling stations across the country have refused to comply with the Federal Government’s directive to sell a litre of petrol for N86.50 as against the old pump price of N87 is because most of them had stockpiled the product in anticipation of a likely price increase by the government.

Compliance by filling station owners with the new pump price of N86.50 for a litre of petrol has not been great across the country even though the Department of Petroleum Resources, the regulator of the downstream petroleum sector, has vowed to punish defaulters.

In some instances, the filling station owners and managers have become more daring, displaying new prices above the stipulated maximum on their petrol dispensing pumps.

One of our correspondent actually bought petrol at a filling station along Gbongan Road, Osogbo, the Osun State capital for N110 per litre on Monday. The price was proudly displayed on the digital dispensing machine instead of the practice before of displaying the regulated price of N87 per litre, but the attendants would inform the buyer of a higher price and the difference would be calculated based on the volume bought.

When asked why the station’s management was bold to display N110 as the pump price, a female attendant simply said that was the instruction given by the owners.

The PPPRA had on Tuesday, December 29, 2015, announced that retail filling stations belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation would from Friday, January 1, 2016, sell petrol at N86 per litre, while other marketers would sell the product for N86.5 per litre.

In Jos, the Plateau State capital, most major marketers are still selling at N87 per litre despite the N0.50 reduction in the fuel price. Only the NNPC mega stations have adjusted their pump price to the N86 stipulated by the PPPRA.

Some of the marketers told one of our correspondents that they could not afford to sell below that as they still had old stock.

One of the attendants, who simply identified himself as Ahmed, said the inconsistency in the Federal Government’s pronouncement prompted some marketers to hoard the product in anticipation of a price increase later.

“Our station discharged a full tanker before the New Year, but we were afraid of what the new price will be. However, we are for now sticking to the old price because we are still having our old stock,” he explained.

In Anambra State, a litre of petrol sold for N140 on the average on Monday as many filling station owners pretended not to have heard about the new price regime.

An attendant at a filling station in Awka said, “I don’t know about any new price for petrol. We sell a litre here for N140.”

A manager at a filling station, who pleaded anonymity said, “The new price you are talking about may be for government filling stations like those belonging to the NNPC and not for private filling stations.

“Besides, what we have here is old stock. We didn’t even buy at that price you are talking about.”

Filling stations in Enugu State have yet to comply with the Federal Government’s directive on the new pump price of petrol.

One of our correspondents, who monitored the situation on Sunday and Monday, observed that the product was being sold for between N120 and N150 per litre in different parts of the state .Punch