About 30,000 members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria are reportedly set to begin lifting Premium Motor Spirits (Petrol) from the Dangote refinery, following the finalization of negotiations between both parties.
The bone of contention, particularly for Nigerians, on the subject has been addressed as IPMAN revealed that the price of petrol from the refinery was N940/litre and N990/litre when purchased using ships and trucks, respectively.
“Presently, we have been given two different arrangements on how to buy fuel from the refinery. There is the one that we can load the vessels and carry to our various depots at the rate of N940 per litre. Then for the depots, it is at the rate of N990 per litre,” IPMAN president Abubakar Garima, stated.
As reported by the Punch newspaper, the new price is less than the N960 and N990 per liter that the refinery disclosed last week for trucks and ships.
The IPMAN president also revealed that the agreement between the association and the refinery is intended to ensure steady supply of petrol as well as a cheaper product, which is set to be N50 less than imported petrol.
He clarified that the direct purchases from the refinery will do away with the need to pay middlemen like depot owners and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company.
The IPMAN president also noted that within the next few weeks, the price of gasoline will reflect these cost savings.
“The masses are looking for how we, Independent Petroleum Marketers, can reduce prices for them. So the price too will reduce because we are not buying through the third party.
So the profit that we have been giving to the third party like NNPC and depot owners will be reduced. That is the issue,” he said.
“For instance, the current price in Maiduguri now is N1,200 per litre. So with these current changes, it may likely reduce to N1,150, which is a reduction of N50. So that’s N1,150. It may even be below that,” he added.
Garima, however, noted that this price reduction could be a consistent trend if market forces remain favorable.
“And as we continue, you know, this thing, since it’s deregulation. Yes. As we continue. It can go down. It can go down continuously because, provided that the product is available, you may find that the market will come a little bit low, and then the naira will start appreciating.
And then if the crude oil price is reduced, automatically, the same thing will be reduced,” he explained.
