Fakoyejo Olalekan
The Secretary, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Abuja-Suleja, Mohammed Shuaibu, has disclosed that the cost of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) could rise to N800/litre even as petrol scarcity persists.
According to Shuaibu, the removal of the fuel subsidy will cause the price of PMS, also known as petrol, to be as high as that of Diesel already selling between N800 and N900/litre.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelPrime Business Africa had reported that Federal Government plans to remove fuel subsidy – a controversial payment made to oil marketers to ensure pump prices at filling stations remain at government-controlled level – by June 2023.
Shuaibu said without carefully considering and implementing certain measures, Nigerians will likely suffer more from removal of subsidy as fuel scarcity still subsists.
“If the government fails to take the appropriate measures, and they say they want to remove fuel subsidy, the situation will be worse than this; the masses will suffer. How can you remove subsidy and you don’t have this product (petrol)?,” Shuaibu told Punch on Monday.
The oil marketer stated further: “If the government removes subsidy, where is the product? If you are removing subsidy, maybe by that time, the way diesel is sold at between N800 – N900/litre, we could be buying petrol at N800/litre, if not more than that.
“This is because the product will be scarce, even from the government cycle. So the government should tell Nigerians the truth about this fuel supply crisis. It is not a problem caused by marketers.”
He also absolved oil marketers of the blame for petrol scarcity , stating that the retailers are not behind the price of petrol rising above the government-agreed price of N179 per litre.
Shuaibu cited market forces as reason for the hike in price. “By tomorrow, they will claim that it is the fault of the marketers. How? We are businessmen and every businessman wants to make profit. You know the law of supply and demand. When the product is scarce, prices will rise, and vice versa.”
