Nigerian may experience another episode of scarcity of fuel.products, as independent fuel marketers resist Federal Government’s demand for them to cut pump prices.
The marketers have threatened to shut down filling stations nationwide if the government goes ahead to impose price controls in the country’s deregulated fuel market.
This was in reaction to recent comments by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, that government agencies would not tolerate profiteering by operators even though petrol pricing had been liberalised.
Speaking, the National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Ukadike, said any attempt to impose price controls would violate the principles of deregulation and force marketers to suspend operations across the country.
“If the government tries to enforce price control, we will shut down our filling stations nationwide.
“You cannot operate a deregulated market and at the same time dictate the price marketers should sell their products without considering the cost of purchase,” Ukadike told newsmen.
He maintained that marketers were not exploiting Nigerians but were instead grappling with mounting financial losses arising from frequent downward adjustments in depot prices, particularly by the Dangote Refinery.
According to him, many marketers purchase products at higher rates with bank financing, only for depot prices to decline before their existing stock is exhausted.
He argued that the situation leaves them to absorb significant losses.
Ukadike said the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) provides for a market-driven pricing system.
He warned that government interference would discourage investment and undermine confidence in the downstream sector.
Rather than fixing prices, he urged the Federal Government to strengthen competition by supporting local refining, reviving state-owned refineries and creating an enabling environment for more importers and refiners to operate.
The National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, adopted a more conciliatory position.
He said the minister had the authority to intervene in the interest of consumers but should first engage stakeholders.
He called for an emergency meeting involving the Federal Government, regulators, refiners and marketers to resolve the pricing dispute through dialogue.
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has also entered the debate.
The Commission recently questioned why reductions in global crude oil prices had not translated into significant cuts in petrol pump prices, noting that only marginal adjustments had been recorded across the supply chain.
Petrol currently sells for between ₦1,140 and ₦1,210 per litre across different parts of the country, with prices variations.
(Ripples)