Victor EzejaThe Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has said there is no plan to increase pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly called petrol by its members, urging Nigerians to stop engaging in panic buying.
Chairman of IPMAN, Enugu Depot, Mr Chinedu Anyaso, who spoke in reaction to the recent news of impending plan to increase pump price of petrol said there is no such plan.
He explained that the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) which is currently the sole importer of petrol had not indicated plans to increase the price and urged the public to disregard the rumuours.
While explaining what could have led to the rumour of potential increase, Mr Anyaso said: “the panic may have arisen from a calculation of the downward trend of naira in exchange with the dollar.
“If there is any refined product, we will know because we are the middlemen that buy and sell to end users.”
Rumours emerged within last week that the price of petrol may increase to N1,200 per litre because of the continued depreciation of the naira and rising costs of crude oil in the international market.
Analysts had asserted that based on the market situation, the price of petrol is expected to go up given that the downstream oil and gas industry in the country is now deregulated.
The news of purported increase did not go down well with many Nigerians who lamented that they were yet to overcome the effect of the more than 300 percent price hike in the last six months as a result of petrol subsidy removal by the federal government.
NNPCL through a statement by its spokesperson, Femi Soneye, denied plans to increase pump price of petrol.
Soneye assured that the national oil company has adequate stock of the product and its retail outlets would continue to sell at the current price of N617.
The IPMAN chairman Enugu depot, expressed optimism that Dangote and Port Harcourt Refineries would help to bring down the price of petrol across the country when they begin refining petroleum products early this year.
“I strongly believe that the Dangote refinery with its capacity of 650, 000 barrels per day will help to bring down the price of fuel in the country.
“There is no need for panic buying as there is enough product being made available to marketers at different depots by the NNPCL. Let Nigerians ignore the speculations and avoid panic buying,” Anyaso said.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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