Petroleum marketers have attributed the failure of the Federal Government’s proposed petrol price reduction to market speculation and the limited scope of the intervention.
The government had announced a 30-day discount last Thursday, with Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele stating that petrol would sell for N1,350 per litre at Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) filling stations.
However, the price reduction had yet to take effect fully in Abuja as of Monday, with pump prices at surveyed NNPCL outlets remaining above the announced rate.
A market survey found that NNPCL stations in Wuse Zones 4 and 6 were selling petrol at N1,370 per litre. This followed earlier increases at some outlets, where prices rose from N1,370 to N1,405 per litre.
Other retailers, including MRS, AA Rano and Ranoil, also adjusted their prices upwards over the weekend, with petrol selling between N1,370 and N1,410 per litre in Abuja and surrounding areas.
National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association, Billy Gillis-Harry, said uncertainty following the government’s announcement had contributed to the price fluctuations.
He explained that Nigeria’s reliance on one dominant domestic refinery alongside imported petroleum products meant that changes in demand could influence pump prices.
Gillis-Harry also warned that restricting the proposed discount to NNPCL retail outlets would not necessarily prevent further price movements across the downstream petroleum market.
He urged Nigerians against panic buying, expressing confidence that prices would eventually stabilise.
Meanwhile, the National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abubakar Maigandi, assured consumers that his members had adequate petrol supplies from the Dangote Refinery.
Maigandi also called on the Federal Government to extend the discount to independent petroleum marketers instead of limiting the intervention to NNPCL stations.
The marketers’ concerns come as motorists await the implementation of the announced price reduction, with pump prices yet to fall to the government’s proposed N1,350 per litre at the outlets surveyed.
