Kerosene: Nigerians to pay more as PPMC hike pump price to N135

By ODUNEWU SEGUN

THE Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is set to announce a new pump price for kerosene today, National Daily investigation has learnt.

The new price, National Daily gathered is N135 per litre as against the former N73, which many consumers for sometimes now have not been to get.

It was gathered that following foreign exchange crisis, which makes it difficult for the private marketers to access foreign exchange at the official price has led to the scarcity of the essential commodity.

According to reliable sources, PPMC, has decided to increase the ex-depot price to N135 per litre with effect from today, after the next consignment of about 17,000MT capacity imported vessel arrives Lagos this week.

However, the public who are the end users would not be losing much as the product had always sold above the N73 official price because of racketeering by officials of PPMC and the marketers.

National Daily gathered that officials of PPMC allocate the product to marketers at ex-depot price of N73 per litre, while the marketers sell to the public at over N180 per litre.

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Buttressing this point, in a circular number: PPMC/MKT/IBN/01/2016, signed by one LNS Madubuike, the PPMC had directed marketers to pay N73 per litre for kerosene imported by the company. The marketers, however, sell the product to the public at between N180 and N250 per litre.

According to a PPMC source, after discharging kerosene to the private marketers, this quantity is left in the vessel by PPMC as Remain on Board (ROB) and nobody knows what happens to this product.

Investigation revealed that from the last consignment imported by the PPMC, the independent marketers were selling at ex-depot price of between N170 and 182 per litre.

Some of the independent marketers whose depots had sold kerosene between N170 and N182 per litre include: Capital Oil, Eterna Oil; Rahamaniyya, Aquitane, AA Rano, and Obat Oil.

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It was also gathered from PPMC sources that Honeywell, Aiteo and NIPCO Plc would share the next consignment of PPMC’s kerosene that will arrive this week.

However, it was gathered that PPMC has increased the ex-depot price of this new consignment from N73 per litre to N135 per litre.