Report has it that should the appropriate federal government’s regulatory agency fail to address the continuous non-supply of the products to its members, the South West zone of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) said on Wednesday that it may direct its members in the zone to increase the pump prices of Premium Motor Spirit (P.M.S), as well as the A.G.O popularly known as Diesel.
IPMAN’s Zonal Chairman, Alhaji Dele Tajudeen, made the revelation while speaking to journalists in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State.
He said his members had been unable to obtain supplies of the products from any of the six government-owned depots for the past six months, and had resorted to purchasing from private depot owners, who had continued to take advantage of the situation.
Tajudeen explained that the federal government’s depots, located at Mosimi in Sagamu, Ogun State, as well as others in Ibadan, Lagos, Ore in Ondo State as well as the one in Ilorin, Kwara State capital had all refused to load any of the Independent Marketers, the development, he said compelled his members to start making purchases from the private depot owners since January, 2022.
The IPMAN Zonal Chairman further disclosed that these private depot owners had however, decided to take advantage of the non-availability of the products at government’s depots to jack up the loading price to between N157 and N158, “excluding the transportation cost to our various destinations”.
“So, by the time we add the cost of transportation to the purchasing amount, we will be arriving at a sum above N165, which is the government approved pump dispensing price”.
“But sad enough, the regulatory agency appeared incapacitated to control and compel these private depot owners to sell at government’s approved price for us”.
“As at today, the purchasing price of diesel has increased by 400%. Again, I want members of the general public to know that cost of transporting the product ranges between N6 to N8 and N10 depending on where the products are being transported to from the Lagos private depot where we make purchases”.
“I wish to equally intimate you that making purchases from these private depot owners is not the ultimate end, we also have some overhead costs to bear like running an electricity generator to power our filling stations; paying the staff salaries, as well as servicing the bank loans among other costs”.
“So, by the time we have to add the cost of transportation with the purchasing amount, this situation clearly implied that we as independent marketers will be left with no other option than to dispense the products for nothing lesser than N175 to N180 for customers in the Lagos to Ibadan axis, while those within the Ogbomoso and Ilorin axis may have to buy at a dispensing pump price of N200 per litre”.
“Now, we want to let members of the general public to be aware that the fault is not coming from our end, rather, it is the failure of the regulatory agency to direct the government’s depots to sell the products for us at their depots and at the government’s approved price”.
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