The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has attributed the recent price adjustment of premium motor spirit, commonly known as fuel, to the effects of the deregulation of the sector.
“Well, we know now that we cannot call it an increase but rather we can call the removal of subsidy deregulation. Now, deregulation has started taking place fully,” IPMAN president Abubakar Garima said on Tuesday when he was featured as a guest on Channels Television’s breakfast show Sunrise Daily.
Retail outlets of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) have increased the price of premium motor spirit in Lagos and Abuja.
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In Lagos, a litre now sells for ₦998, up from ₦855, while in Abuja, the price has risen to ₦1,030 from ₦897.
This adjustment comes months after President Bola Tinubu announced the end of the fuel subsidy regime, declaring it “gone” during his inauguration in May 2023. Prior to this, a litre of fuel was priced around ₦200 nationwide, but the removal of the subsidy has led to a continuous rise in prices.
The policy, alongside the floating of the naira, has significantly driven up the cost of commodities in Nigeria, pushing essential items out of reach for millions in the country.
Despite the high prices, fuel availability remains a challenge, with long queues at filling stations becoming a common sight.
However, the President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has assured that with the sector now fully deregulated, fuel shortages will soon be a thing of the past.
“The change that Nigerians are going to expect now: one, we are expecting availability since there is no subsidy,” Garima said.
“The NNPC is not the sole importer. Other marketers too will participate. It is the same thing in buying the product. Other marketers will buy products directly from Dangote [Refinery]. It is not only NNPC.”
With Wednesday’s price adjustment, private fuel suppliers are expected to raise prices further. This increase, which follows a similar hike just a month ago, has sparked widespread outrage across the country.
NLC Reacts To Fuel Price Hike
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has condemned the recent increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, across the country.
In a statement signed by its president, Joe Ajaero, on Wednesday, the NLC demanded an immediate reversal of the price hike and criticized the government’s focus on raising fuel prices.
Ajaero also called on the government to clarify its plans for the future of the nation, while expressing disappointment with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) for its role in the price increase.
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“Even following the logic of market forces, we find it an aberration that a private company (NNPCL) is the one fixing prices and projecting itself as a hegemonic monopoly. We challenge the government to go to the drawing board and present us with a blueprint for inclusive economic growth and national development instead of this spasmodic ad hocism and palliative policy.
“It needs no stating the fact that the latest wave of increase has grossly altered the calculations of Nigerians once again at a time they were reluctantly coming to terms with their new realities. It will further deepen poverty as production capacities dip and more jobs are lost with multidimensional negative effects.
“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. But more fundamentally, the government should be bold enough to tell Nigerians in advance the destination it wants to take the country.”
Earlier, several NNPC stations in Abuja increased the retail price of petrol from N897 to N1,030 per litre.
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