The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) says its members across the country still sell Premium Motor Spirit also known as petrol at N196 per litre despite the removal of fuel subsidy announced by President Bola Tinubu during his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023.
“Subsidy is going to end by June and we tried to inform and highlight to our members not to our members, they should not panic, they should just continue selling the product at their filling stations at the appropriate pricing,” IPMAN National Public Relations Officer, Yakubu Suleiman said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Wednesday.
“Virtually all the stations are selling at the appropriate pricing,” he stressed.
Asked of the “appropriate pricing”, Suleiman said, “Some stations when you go there sell like N195. Some sell at N196.”
A fuel queue in Abuja, Nigeria on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. Photo: Taiwo Adeshina
Further asked whether the price band should not be beyond N195 and N196 per litre, the IPMAN executive said, “Of course, that is the stipulated and that is the normal price the filling stations used to sell even before day before yesterday’s announcement by Mr President.”
The IPMAN spokesman, who cautioned Nigerians against panic buying, said refined petrol without subsidy payment will come into force by July and not June.
‘100 Filling Stations Shut’
Suleiman said IPMAN Task Force team has been deployed across the country to enforce the N196/litre price, saying about 100 retail outlets have been sanctioned and shut for selling at outrageous amount and exploiting Nigerians.
He said retail outlets selling beyond the appropriate price are not members of IPMAN.
“We have a task force that goes around all the filling stations in the country. I want to assure that there are there working and any filling station caught increasing the price just because of this announcement, there has to be a penalty for that. I want to assure Nigerians not to panic,” the IPMAN spokesman stated.
Conversely, our correspondent observed that the vital product is currently being sold in filling stations across the country as high as N300 to N600 per litre even as fuel queues mount up on major roads, inhibiting vehicular movements.
