The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Lagos Satellite Depot, has called on the Federal Government to put in place arrangements that will enable its members to buy petrol at Government approved ex-depot price.
The Chairman, Mr. Akin Akinrinade, who made the call at a media briefing in Lagos, noted that a situation where his members are made to buy from private depot owners at ex-depot price of N220 per litre while major marketers and NNPC retail stations buy at N148, is unfair to the Association.
Mr Akinrinade said the Development has made it impossible for IPMAN members to sell below N250 due to additional costs incurred in the process.
“While the major Markters are selling at N170 per litre and retail outlets are selling at N169 at their stations, private depot owners are selling to us at N220 per litre, so by the time we add other logistics like transportation and others, there is no way we can sell below N250 per litre,” he said.
“We are no longer comfortable with this because Nigerians see us as the black sheep among them. So we want Nigerians to know that it is not our making to sell at that price. This is the reason for this press conference”
The IPMAN Chairman, who urged the federal government to do something urgently about the disparity, cautioned that if nothing is done within seven days, the Association may be left with no option but to resort to drastic actions and other measures which may not augur well for the general public.
He, however, urged the federal government not to allow the situation to degenerate to that level as it would cause untold hardship to Nigerians, especially in this festive season.
“The authorities should address the issue around price disparity. If the major marketers are selling at N170 and they are still making profit, the issue of mother vessel is a story we cannot buy into, the IPMAN Chairman said.
According to Mr Akinrinade, rather than encourage such discriminative measure, government should deregulate the Petroleum sector to allow for equal playing field for all operators.
He lamented that the discrimination in ex-depot price has made IPMAN members loose their customers to their competitors who have the advantage of buying the product at government approved depot price.
