We Are Loosing Up To ₦15 Billion – Marketers Threaten Shutdown Over FG Fuel Price Control

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has threatened to shut down filling stations across the country if the Federal Government moves to enforce price control in the downstream petroleum sector.

IPMAN’s spokesperson, Chinedu Ukadike, who spoke with journalists, said that the petroleum market had been deregulated under the Petroleum Industry Act and should not be subjected to government-imposed pricing.

Naijaonpoint reports that the warning followed recent concerns raised by the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, who called on the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to clamp down on marketers allegedly exploiting fuel consumers.

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) had also warned petroleum marketers against what it described as exploitative petrol pricing.

The government’s position came amid a decline in global crude oil prices, with Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate trading around $72 and $69 per barrel respectively, following the easing of tensions linked to the Iran, United States and Israel conflict.

Despite the fall in crude prices and recent reductions by Dangote Refinery and some filling stations, petrol prices remain high in many parts of Nigeria.

In Abuja, for instance, petrol is currently sold between ₦1,210 and ₦1,300 per litre at several filling stations.

Reacting to the development, Ukadike said marketers had suffered huge losses in recent weeks due to repeated fuel price reductions.

He claimed that many operators had lost between ₦10 billion and ₦15 billion because products bought at higher prices had to be sold at lower rates to remain competitive.

“Capital is hard to gather. There is no buffer area for marketers. Most of us are losing ₦10 to ₦15 billion due to the recent fuel price reduction. You buy at a particular price before you get to your station; the price had further reduced. We sell at a loss to be competitive. If you don’t sell at a competitive price, nobody will buy,” he said.

Ukadike warned that any attempt by the government to dictate pump prices would force marketers to close their stations nationwide.

He argued that the authorities could not claim the market had been deregulated while still attempting to control how much marketers sell their products.

“Marketers will shut down if they try somehow to enforce price control. We are going to shut down our stations nationwide. You can’t be regulating a deregulated market. You can’t tell me how much to sell my product without trying to know how much I bought it.

“You can’t be blowing hot and cold at the same time. The Petroleum Industry Act must be followed to the letter. If they try to enforce price control, we will shut down,” Ukadike said.