Why petrol price can’t go to N40 now — IPMAN

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigerian, Mosimi, Ogun State has said that it would be too difficult for the President-elect, Gen. Muhamadu Buhari to reduce the petroleum pump price to N40 per litre.

The association said the situation in the industry could not allow such reversion, saying, it could however, be reversed to N87 per litre if the Federal Government builds refineries in some parts of the country.

The Chairman of IPMAN, in the state, Adeleke Bada stated this shortly after the assiciation’s Annual General Meeting held in Abeokuta.

Bada, who was flanked by other members of the executive of the assiciation, reacted to the advice given by former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Tam David West to the President-elect to reduce the pump price to N40, said the price is not realistic.

He said “that is not possible, if you look at the nature of the market, that isn’t realistic. Do we have the refineries?

“The only reason that can be possible is when we have our own refineries and we do not export our crude oil for processing. If the processing is done in Nigeria, then it can be sold at the rate of N40 but not until all the refineries are fixed,” he queried.

He however, blamed the non-compliance of sale of Premium Motor Spirit at the N87 stipulated price on the expenses incurred by the marketers while trying to get the fuel available for the use of the masses.

He said that the levies being paid by the marketers to various regulatory associations andunions have made the marketers to inflate the prices of fuel to their desired amount.

He said “that is why they do not want to leave IPMAN alone. The government has not increased the price of fuel, it is still N87 per litre.

“But by the time you get to the depot, after paying around N2.6m for your  ticket, a lot of levies are to be paid, levies from PTD, IPMAN and all others, adding them all together with the cost of transporting your trucks to the station, no one is ready to run at a loss.

“I even give them (marketers) kudos for selling the fuel because they do not want the masses to suffer despite all these anomalies. That is why if you can afford to buy it at the prices they sell, then go on because we make use of it everyday.”