No Plan To Hike Petrol Price To N700 – IPMAN

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and Association of Distributors and Transporters of Petroleum Products (ADITOP) have denied plans to increase petrol price to N700 per litre.

Some oil marketers had predicted that petrol prices could rise above N700 per litre in the northern region and around N600 in Lagos.

The associations in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Abuja on Saturday, dismissed reports of the alleged increase of pump price as speculation.

It said fuel price was being driven by market forces and given the current high exchange rate, the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise called petrol could increase, hence the prediction.

The Naira on Friday dropped against the dollar, exchanging at N769.25 at the investors and exporters window.

The Naira depreciated by 0.82 per cent compared with N763 it exchanged for the dollar before the Eid-el-Kabir holiday that began on June 28.

Some oil marketers had predicted that petrol prices could rise above N700 per litre in the northern region and around N600 in Lagos once independent marketers start importing the products from July.

Their predictions were based on the current high exchange rate, crude price and landing cost.

The trend caused tension and panic buying as queues of motorists sprung up at the onset of the weekend in some filling stations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

NAN also observed that NNPCL retail outlets and others were still dispensing fuel between N540 and N542 per litre.

Speaking with NAN, IPMAN President, Chinedu Okorokwo, refuted the reports indicating a hike in fuel price from July 1, “as mere speculation and should not be given light.

“The increase in pump price would only be caused by high dollar rate which could affect the importation of petroleum products”.

According to him, in the light of deregulation, the oil market is open for importers who wished to do business and would only be licensed by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).