The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria issued a warning to its members on Wednesday not to sell Premium Motor Spirit, also known as gasoline, for more than the authorised N165 per litre pump price.
Following allegations that numerous retail shops had increased the price in their various pumps over the government-regulated rate, IPMAN and the Association of Distributors and Transporters of Petroleum Products issued the warning in Abuja.
Chinedu Okoronkwo, the IPMAN factional national president, acknowledged that organisation members had requested a price increase for gasoline but pointed out that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited had already released adequate fuel.
He said, “Our members in Lagos were getting the fuel at N170 – N173/litre, that’s why they wanted price increased. It is only the NNPC that is importing the product. The cost of doing business has changed, so it becomes difficult to sell at N165/litre
“That is why we are thanking the NNPC for bringing the product to N143/litre. So, our members must sell the product at N165 which is the government-approved price.”
Okoronkwo further disclosed that Benham Group had been hired by IPMAN and its partner to recover money owing to them for the supply of petroleum products.
“Our business requires technology, that is why we brought a seasoned financial expert and we’ve been able to recover a lot of funds in other countries and Nigeria,” he said.
The IPMAN official added, “The incessant mishaps and destruction of trucks on the road, banditry and kidnapping is the reason we are bringing the insurance company to help us. Leaving the risk for the owner of the truck to bear will affect our businesses.”
The NNPC has done a lot to import the commodity, but the biggest challenge is transportation, according to Mohammed Danzaki, national president of the Association of Distributors and Transporters of Petroleum Products in Nigeria.
We haven’t been receiving our payments, he continued. To recover our funds so that Nigerians could have consistent supply at the petrol stations, we hired financial advisors Benham Group.
According to Maurice Ibe, the chairman of the Benham Group, the goal of the partnership is to stabilise the fuel supply at the filling stations.
