The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has attributed the recent hike in the pump price of petroleum to increased “difficulty in landing products.”
PETROAN President Billy Gillis-Harris made this statement during an appearance on Tuesday’s edition of Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
He explained, “What I can tell you is, once there is difficulty in landing products by NNPCL and the size of shock absorbing that they (NNPCL) can do becomes overwhelming, they will certainly shed some of the loads. I think that’s what would have happened.”
On Wednesday, retail outlets of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) increased the pump price of petrol in Lagos and Abuja. NNPCL outlets in Lagos sold a litre of petrol for ₦998, an increase of ₦150 from the previous price of ₦855. Similarly, in Abuja, the price rose to ₦1,030 from ₦897.
This increase has led to a corresponding rise in prices at other filling stations, with some parts of Lagos selling petrol for ₦1,050. NNPCL’s recent adjustment comes just a month after it raised the price per litre from ₦568 to ₦855, citing significant debts to fuel suppliers and a need for a roughly 40-percent price increase to stabilise its finances.
Gillis-Harris noted that the prices of petrol will be influenced by market forces, stating, “The truth right now is that petrol prices are going to be determined by the forces of demand and supply. This does not mean that the prices will always be high. Remember that our dollar exchange value is going to impact very highly on the cost of PMS because we are operating a dollarised business in naira.”
He expressed hope that the commissioning of the Dangote Refinery would provide relief for Nigerians, saying, “This is what we thought that the Dangote Refinery and other refineries in Nigeria should come to the rescue.”
In response to the price hike, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) expressed its dismay and called for an immediate reversal, noting that the hike will increase the difficulty experienced by Nigerians.
“In light of this, we urge the government to immediately reverse this rate hike as previous increases did not produce any good results. People only got poorer,” the NLC stated on Wednesday.
Following President Tinubu’s removal of the fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira currency, Nigerians have faced inflation rates not seen in three decades. Before these reforms, petrol was sold for less than ₦200 per litre.
Despite this, Tinubu urged patience with the government’s reforms during his Independence Day speech, stressing long-term economic revival and attracting foreign investment.
