Oil marketers under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) have attributed the lingering fuel scarcity in Lagos and its environs to the inability of the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) to supply products to the Ejigbo depot.
According to NAN, this was made known by the Secretary of IPMAN, Lagos Satellite Depot Ejigbo, Akeem Balogun, during an interview on Friday in Lagos.
This is coming against the backdrop of the reported directive by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to the Independent Marketers from South-West Zone to revert to the approved N165 pump price of petrol, at a recent meeting with them.
However, Balogun said that the decision to go back to the government-regulated price for petrol depends on if and when marketers are able to buy products at the approved ex-depot price.
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He also pointed out that they are hoping that the marketers can buy fuel from PPMC, which is a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited so they can also sell at N165 per litre at retail outlets.
Balogun said, “We are still waiting for the PPMC to supply products to our depot so that we can buy at the controlled price and can also sell at N165 per litre at our retail outlets.’’
Private depot owners’ still selling petrol above approved price as fuel scarcity persists
Reports have suggested that private depot owners are still selling petrol at about N162 per litre to the oil marketers as against the approved N148.17 per litre with some retail fuel stations especially the ones owned by independent marketers selling at between N180 per litre and N195 per litre depending on the location.
Meanwhile, scarcity of petrol has persisted across different parts of Lagos and its environs with many petrol stations shut and long queues of vehicles seen at the few filling stations that are selling.