To mitigate the rising price of petroleum, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) is planning to sign an agreement with independent oil marketers to ensure that the ex-depot price of petrol is N148/litre.
Investors King understands that the price cap is aimed to have a uniform price across the country and ensure a steady supply of petroleum products.
The National Controller, Operations, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mike Osatuyi noted that the association is currently holding a series of meetings with the new Managing Director of NNPC Retail, Hubb Stockman, who promised to supply products directly to IPMAN members.
He said, “They (NNPC) have now put IPMAN under him (Stockman) directly, and he’s a good guy. With the series of meetings we have been having with him, something good will come out of it, latest by January”.
Mike further added that a steady supply of petroleum directly to independent marketers will force the price to go down.
“We will get products directly from NNPC and we won’t have to go through the depots. He’s a white guy, and you know whites don’t play politics. By that, prices of products will go down,” he stated.
Meanwhile, fuel scarcity persists in major cities of the country as motorists queue for Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol in a few of the petrol stations that dispense the product.
In Abuja for instance, many filling stations, particularly those of independent oil marketers, remained closed due to lack of products, while the few outlets of major marketers that dispensed petrol are characterised with long queues.
It was gathered that many depots were currently running out of petroleum products, a development that reduced supplies from depots to retail stations across the country.
The scarcity has also encouraged the activities of roadside black marketers who sell far beyond the approved price. While motorists do not care about the price of oil, some black marketers sell as high as N350 per litre, fleecing the public because of the situation.