ALTHOUGH there are no long queues for kerosene in most of the filling stations visited during the week, that has not reduced the pump price of kerosene, after the Federal Government, last weekend, removed subsidy on Household Kerosene (HHK).

The government also pegged the price to N83 per litre from N50 per litre, thereby officially ending subsidy on the product.
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, in its product pricing template released last weekend, however, stated that the N83 per litre price applies only to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), meaning that other petrol stations and dealers can sell at higher prices than the stipulated amount.

The Guardian discovered that the price of kerosene has jumped up. Filling stations now sell according to the directives of the management of their station. There is no uniformity in the price in the filling stations from one part of Lagos to another.

A visit to some of the filling stations revealed that they are now selling kerosene from between N85 to N140.At Energy Oil near Gowon Estate, Egbeda, the price of a litre of kerosene has jumped from N130 to N140 per litre since last Tuesday.

The Guardian learnt from one of the petrol attendants at the filling station that last Monday they sold the product for N130 per litre, but by Tuesday the management asked them to increase it to N140 per litre.
“It is not about the price, it is more about using the correct litre. Some filling stations have already adjusted their metre so they can sell at a lower price but their metres read very fast. You cannot just compare what we are selling here to what they are selling else where at a cheaper price.”

He stressed that buyers should be careful of the filling stations selling kerosene at a lower price because most of them are not sincere with their metre.

“So if you buy from here, you are rest assured that you will get value for your money. One of our customers complained that at the filling station close to his house they are selling at N100, but they are not using the correct metre.”

At Petroleum Manager (PM) filling station, Agege, kerosene is sold at N115 per litre. One of the petrol attendants said that on Monday they were selling for N110. “From Tuesday we started selling for N115. I don’t know why.”

Also at Ajoke International Resources Limited filling station, Agege, the product is being dispensed at N110.
One of the petroleum attendants said that the management instructed that they should increase the price of kerosene to N110 on Tuesday.

“I don’t know what will happen next. We are going to sell according to what we buy.”
Even at NNPC filling stations that they ought to be selling for N83 they are selling beyond the limit set by the government.

For example at NNPC Agege near Mulero Bus Stop, a litre sells for N110 per litre.
“We sold at 109 per litre before the removal of subsidy but now we are selling at N115 per litre,” one of the petro attendants said.

In most of the Total filling stations visited, the product is out of stock but at Total filling station Ilupeju, it was selling at N85/N86 before they ran out of stock on Wednesday.

Curiously, the hike in the price of kerosene came at a time when the price of crude oil had dropped to record low, with the price of petroleum products, such as kerosene, fuel and diesel, among others, dropping significantly in a number of countries, like the United States.

This also brings to question, the recent reduction in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) announced by the Federal Government and which commenced at the beginning of the year.

Again, the PPPRA’s template also showed that at N83 per litre, the Federal Government is making a gain of N10.72 for every litre, as it puts the Expected Open Market Price, which is the Landing Cost plus Total Margins at N72.28 per litre. The expected open market price is the prevailing open market rate for the product in Nigeria, after taking certain costs into consideration. Giving a breakdown of the price, the PPPRA template put the Landing Cost of the product at N57.98 per litre, while the total margin due for middlemen was put at N14.30.