Petrol price has now been pegged at N185 per Litre as top Marketers in Abuja and Lagos Adjust Pump Price despite consistent denial by the government.
According to findings, the new change in price per Litre emerged after MOMAN [ major oil marketers Association of Nigeria stated that the old regulated pump price for PMS [ pump price for premium motor spirit] is no longer achievable.
MOMAN Chairman Olumide Adeosun, disclosed on Wednesday during a virtual consumer protection workshop for Oil Marketers by the FCCPC [Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission], blamed the constant fuel scarcity across the country on the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine which has distorted supply and distribution of global energy.
Adeosun added that the present situation is not too different from the COVID-19 pandemic era, where some countries halted the exportation of petrol in favour of their national energy securities. He maintained that it would be hard to enforce any price control mechanism on marketers who had to slightly adjust their prices based on how much they bought products from the depots.
He said the solution was a phased deregulation of PMS by the FG to reduce the shock on consumers. Earlier, the federal government on June 21, 2022, insisted that the pump price of petrol be maintained at N165 per litre as shown in the petroleum products pricing template.
Despite the directive, the prices have only remained fixed in Lagos and Abuja metropolis, while marketers sell at higher prices in the outskirts and rural region.
In the 2022 revised medium-term expenditure framework Muhammadu Buhari regime is said to have budgeted N4 trillion for fuel subsidy .