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The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), South West chapter, has directed all its members in the zone to increase the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol to N150 per litre.
The official pump price of petrol had been N143.80k per litre since July.
The IPMAN South West Zonal chairman, Alhaji Dele Tajudeen, who spoke with journalists in Abeokuta, on Thursday, said the directive became necessary in order to avert the planned shutdown of filling stations across the zone.
Tajudeen said IPMAN took the decision due to a new price regime announced by the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC).
The Downstream Subsidiary of NNPC, Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) had on Tuesday, in a memo signed by its Manager, Sales, Mohammed Bello, fixed ex-Depot price of petrol to N138.62 per litre with effect from August 5, 2020.
While berating the PPMC for what he described as “policy inconsistency,” Tajudeen lamented that the new depot price has subjected IPMAN members to a serious dilemma.
He said after careful deliberations and consideration of many factors, IPMAN zonal Executive Committee arrived at the conclusion of increasing the pump price to N150, rather than joining saboteurs at creating artificial scarcity of the product.
“After careful deliberations and consideration of many factors, the IPMAN Zonal officers hereby declared that all its members should henceforth increase their pump price to N150 and shelve the plan of total close down of petrol stations across the South West.
“The PPMC is inconsistent and unorganised in dealing with the stakeholders. The normal thing to have been done was to involve marketers and other parties before announcing any increment.
“Even after announcing the new ex-depot price, they should have fixed the pump price for marketers to prevent unnecessary debt.
“It is very disheartening to hear that a new price regime is coming to effect, without considering the plight of marketers who bought these products at an expensive price,” Tajudeen said.