The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has agreed to sell Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) to members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) at N995 per litre, following the intervention of the Department of State Services (DSS) in the ongoing dispute between the two parties.
Hammed Fashola, National Vice President of IPMAN, praised the DSS for resolving many issues faced by marketers. He confirmed that, as a result of the intervention, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority would pay the association’s outstanding N10bn and address the direct purchase of petrol from the Dangote refinery.
Fashola expressed appreciation for the DSS’s role in brokering peace and understanding between the parties, stating, “We really appreciate their intervention. They are doing their job. Anywhere they have seen that there may be a crisis, it is their duty to intervene. And their intervention brokered peace and understanding between the parties, and everybody agreed to work together.”
When asked about the price at which NNPC will sell petrol to IPMAN, Fashola replied, “For now, tentatively, I think they are offering us N995 per litre.”
Fashola assured that with the N995 ex-depot price, IPMAN members would no longer sell at significantly higher prices than major marketers, though transportation costs would still affect final pricing. “Our members sell at N1,200 or so and this depends on the location. I think with the N995, there will be a little reduction. Don’t forget that if you transport a product from Lagos to a far distance, you will pay for transportation and other charges.”
He emphasized the need for competitive pricing and closing the gap between independent marketers and major marketers, stating, “The price disparity has been a disadvantage between us and the NNPC Retail and major marketers. So, we are trying to look at how to close that gap so that we come back fully into the business.”
Fashola noted that the price differential is the reason for queues in some filling stations, explaining, “The queues you see are because of that difference in prices, that’s why people are saying there are queues. There are no queues; it is the price disparity that is causing the queues.”
He also confirmed that IPMAN would meet with Dangote to discuss direct petrol purchases, following the Federal Government’s directive. “For now, we intend to meet with Dangote this week to see how we work out the modalities and all that. The Federal Government has given a directive and we want to take full advantage of that.”
Despite this, Fashola emphasized that IPMAN would still consider doing business with NNPC if they offered competitive prices. “At the same time too, we are not ignoring NNPC. So, whichever way, we are ready to do business with NNPC. It depends on the price, we go for the best.”
IPMAN had previously revealed that while the Dangote Petroleum Refinery sells petrol to NNPC at about N898/litre, NNPC was selling it to independent marketers at higher prices, leading to threats from IPMAN to stop operations and demands for a refund from NNPC for earlier payments.
Abubakar Maigandi, IPMAN national president, stated, “Our major challenge now is that independent marketers have an outstanding debt from the NNPC and the company collected products through Dangote at a lower rate, which is not up to N900, but they are telling us now to buy this product from them at the price of N1,010/litre in Lagos; N1,045 in Calabar; N1,050 in Port-Harcourt; and N1,040 in Warri.”
