By Adedapo Adesanya
The cost of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol, has risen to as high as N200/litre, raising concerns for motorists and commuters.
PMS cost, which was between N178 to N185/litre recently, had been jerked up by private depot owners due to the drop in supply by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, among other operational concerns.
This came as both the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and the Petroleum Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) said that tankers were now spending more than one week in queues for petrol at depots.
This, they said, had led to empty filling stations nationwide, a development creating chaos among motorists at some of the few outlets dispensing petrol in Lagos, Abuja, Nasarawa, Niger and neighbouring states.
According to the National Vice President of IPMAN, Mr Abubakar Maigandi, this development was initially caused by the flood, which led to a reduction in supply by NNPC and the hike in the ex-depot price of petrol at depots in Lagos and Warri, Delta State.
He said, “This is due to the fact that there is not enough supply of products from the NNPC. These are the challenges we have been facing. Your truck will go there and queue for more than one week.
“And you know that when a truck spends one week in a queue without loading, it will cause a serious issue in terms of availability. Again, because independent marketers rely on private depot owners to get products, when we go there to purchase, they sell at almost N200/litre to us.
“They now sell between N190 to N200/litre in Lagos and Warri depots. You can now imagine the cost at filling stations. People should definitely be ready to buy above N200/litre if this situation continues.”
This was also confirmed by PETROAN, which said there was not enough petrol supply in the country.
Speaking to Business Post, a Bolt driver, Mr Seun Fasanmi, lamented the cost of the product, noting that he had to buy petrol at about N250 on Tuesday morning so he could conduct his business.
“It is extremely worrying for us because I had to buy fuel for N250 per litre today. It is not easy at all to do business and make money. I have to work extra hours so I can make a profit,” he said.
There have been speculations that this may yet continue into the festive season.
