The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, has disclosed that 437.5 million litres of premium motor spirit, petrol, was supplied in the first six days of August.
Data on petrol truckout posted on the NMDPRA website showed that Lagos, Ogun, Kano, Delta, Rivers and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, were among the largest recipients of the product.
The huge supply coupled with increase in the pump price of the product has erased queues from petrol stations across the country.
In Abuja and Nassarawa state, checks showed that pump price ranged from N174 per litre at NNPC Limited filling stations to N215 per litre at stations operated by independent petroleum marketers.
Speaking to Vanguard on the different pump prices charged by the marketers, the Public Relations Officer of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Chief Chinedu Ukadike said the prices were a reflection of what marketers were paying to obtain the product.
“We have been buying the product at N157-N163 per litre from the coastal depots and that makes it impossible for us to sell at N165 per litre. We have been saying this for a long time.
“The cost of operation is extremely high given how much diesel now costs. All these must be put into consideration when planning for the downstream sector. Local refining is the way to go and we are calling on the government to make this happen”, he stated.
