Looming fuel crisis as IPMAN rejects NNPCL’s new ex-depot price

Nigerians may soon face a severe fuel shortage as the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has rejected the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPCL) newly set ex-depot price for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

IPMAN, representing over 70 percent of Nigeria’s filling stations, has threatened to cease operations unless NNPCL reverses its decision to raise the ex-depot price to N1,010 per liter.

In an interview on Friday, IPMAN spokesperson Chinedu Ukadike expressed outrage over the fresh price hike, which was announced by NNPCL on Wednesday.

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The state-owned company had set new prices across its retail outlets, ranging from N998 to N1,030 per liter in Abuja and Lagos, while offering ex-depot prices of N1,010 to N1,040 to marketers.

Ukadike condemned the price differential, arguing that it would force IPMAN members to sell fuel at unaffordable rates, with prices potentially reaching N1,200 per liter once logistics costs are factored in.

He criticized NNPCL’s pricing policy, stating that it contradicted the principles of deregulation, as the company was selling directly to its own outlets at lower prices than to independent marketers.

“NNPCL is selling an ex-depot in Port Harcourt at N1,045 per liter, Calabar at N1,040, and Lagos at N1,010. We were refused the price by NNPCL. We cannot comply with it,” Ukadike declared.

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He further warned that if NNPCL does not reverse the price hike, IPMAN will halt the distribution of fuel, exacerbating the fuel scarcity already observed in parts of the country, including Abuja, where many stations ceased dispensing fuel on Thursday.

This crisis comes amidst calls from the Nigeria Labour Congress for an immediate rollback of the fuel price increase, which has worsened the economic hardship on citizens.

While the government has blamed market forces for the hike, IPMAN’s resistance raises the specter of widespread fuel shortages in the coming days.