The Chairman of IPMAN South-west Zone, Dele Tajudeen, stated
this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Friday.
The chairman, therefore, urged Nigerians to disregard the
speculation and not engage in panic buying.
Mr Tajudeen stressed that the product’s price would be less
than what is being sold presently.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for removing the subsidy
on petrol, adding that it was long overdue.
“Even in the PIA bill, it has been clearly stated that the
subsidy must be removed.
”So, I want to commend him for removing the subsidy and I
want to say that we are in support totally. This is because the subsidy was a
scam.”
He said the ‘slight’ increase in pump price was because of
the transportation cost and that Nigerians should be at rest as the commodity
will not be out of reach for the masses.
“I want to disabuse the mind of the people that they should
not panic about it, there is no cause for alarm, we are in control, and there
is nothing like that.
“So, people should be rest assured that there is no way they
can buy petrol more than the price it is being sold now.
“If we look at the price from NNPC retail limited, which is
an integral part of NNPC limited, they have more advantages than independent
marketers and major marketers.
”So, it was the retail price that they announced they had
never given a specific price to the independent marketers.
“However, I have read what somebody put into the paper; it
is just speculation and not a reality. Nothing like that. I want to assure the
masses.
“There is no how the price can go to N700 as we speak
because even if the FX is N700 or N800, that has not nothing to take the price
of petroleum from N500 to N700,” Mr Tajudeen said.
He noted that the product had been deregulated. Hence, the
price differential was due to transportation as it is related to location.
”If you are moving products within Lagos, the price may not
be more than N300,000, but if you are moving up to Ibadan or thereabout, it
could be as much as N500,000.
”And if you are going to Ilorin, it could be as high as
N700,000, that would account for the differential in prices.
“I want to say with all sense of authority that as of today,
within Lagos metropolis, nobody should sell more than N515 to N520 per litre.
“Though NNPC has given us the price but the reality of it is that
what we buy from the market; because NNPC limited is not the only source for
our product; we get from private depots.
“So, whatever we buy is what we put our own margin and sell.
“But as of today, the highest you can get anywhere should be around
N550; Lagos N510 per litre; Ogun State between N500 and N520,” Mr Tajudeen
said.
Meanwhile, a coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) had
vowed to resist the alleged planned increase in the pump price of petrol
They made their position known in a statement jointly signed by
the Convener, Basil Musa, and Co-Convener, Haruna Maigida, in Abuja on behalf
of others.
They vowed to resist by picketing IPMAN members’ filling stations
nationwide.
They accused the IPMAN of running a parallel government and
inflicting pain on ordinary Nigerians through their unilateral adjustment of
the price of petroleum.
They described the planned increment as unacceptable and called on
the Federal Government to stop IPMAN from its alleged profiteering at the
expense of ordinary Nigerians.
The CSOs said the move was an economic sabotage, coming when
Nigerians are still trying to escape the “price shock” occasioned by the
increment on 29 May.(NAN)