The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has refuted rumors about their alleged plan to raise the nationwide pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, to N700 per litre. According to a report by NAN, the Chairman of IPMAN Southwest Zone, Dele Tajudeen, clarified this matter during an interview in Ibadan on Friday.
Tajudeen urged the public to dismiss these speculations and avoid engaging in panic buying. He assured Nigerians that the current price of the product would not be exceeded. Furthermore, he expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for removing the subsidy on petrol, stating that it was long overdue.
“Even in the PIA bill, it has been clearly stated that the subsidy must be removed. So, I want to commend him for removing the subsidy and say that we are in support. It is because the subsidy was a scam.”
Tajudeen explained that the slight increase in the pump price was due to transportation costs, but he emphasized that the commodity would remain affordable for the masses.
“I want to disabuse the people’s mind that they should not panic about it; there is no cause for alarm, we are in control and nothing like that.
“So, people should be assured that there is no way they can buy petrol more than the price it is being sold now.
“If we look at the price from NNPC retail limited, which is an integral part of NNPC limited, they have more advantages than independent marketers and major marketers.
” So, it was the retail price that they announced they had never given a specific price to the independent marketers.
“However, I have read what somebody put in the paper; it is just speculation and not a reality. Nothing like that; I want to assure the masses.
“There is no way the price can go to N700 as we speak because even if the FX is N700 or N800, that has nothing to take the price of petroleum from N500 to N700,” Tajudeen said.
Meanwhile, a coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) had vowed to resist the alleged planned increase in the pump price of petrol.
