The official price of gasoline has gone up by 8.8% to N185 per liter, up from N170 per liter, according to the Federal Government.
Additionally, the ex-depot price increased to N167 from N148 per liter.
However, Vanguard’s findings indicate that many gas stations have been selling significantly more than the new price, which may have rendered the new price almost unattainable.
The government told fuel marketers yesterday that the new price should go into effect right away.
According to information obtained by Vanguard yesterday, a few gas stations that are members of the Major Marketers Association of Nigeria, or MOMAN, have already modified their pumps to comply with the brand-new price directive.
Drivers who waited for hours in fuel lines in search of the product felt even more anxious as a result of the development.
According to a source, the government sent an internal memo to all marketers, including the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN).
We lift at N240 per liter—IPMAN. However, IPMAN President Chinedu Okonkwo told Vanguard yesterday, “So I heard, but we are waiting for the circular because without that we cannot do anything.” In response to the development. Hopefully, we will have a better understanding by tomorrow (today).
Also read: Marketers want to lower the price of gasoline by giving diesel a subsidy. In April, the subsidy for gasoline will start to be taken away gradually. The National Operations Controller of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Mr. Mike Osatuyi, commented on the development, stating that his members had continued to lift the product at N240 per liter. When told that some major oil marketers had adjusted their pump price to the new approved price, he stated, “well they can adjust as the product is scarce to get at the moment, but with the new approved price, we hope to get products so we can sell to consumers.”
However, the majority of independent gasoline retailers in Lagos have raised their pump prices to anywhere from N290 to N300 per liter.
However, the majority of IPMAN gas stations do not maintain gasoline inventories, necessitating the sale of the fuel at astronomical prices by a select few.
Betsy Petrol, an independent market in Alimosho LGA, Lagos, informed Vanguard that they were selling the last of their stock yesterday.
I feel sorry for the commercial motorcycle and tricycle operators known as Keke Marwa and Okada who have been making their way to the filing station in search of fuel. Consequently, I have chosen to open today and sell my limited stock.
In order to achieve stability in the petroleum industry’s downstream sector, the Federal Government had previously concluded plans to gradually end the subsidy for gasoline beginning in April 2023.
Marketers In a similar vein, Olumide Adeosun, Chairman of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, had previously called for gradual sector deregulation.
He had stated, Given the current state of government finances and unpredictable international supply shortages, MOMAN fears that the current supply framework cannot guarantee steady and consistent supplies to the nation. As a result, we advocate a gradual price deregulation combined with specific palliatives (such as Subsidies for transportation and agriculture) to the general public to facilitate implementation.
Dr. Muda Yusuf, Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), stated in a telephone interview with Vanguard yesterday that the development is a step in the right direction.
He said, ” Despite the fact that Nigerians are currently purchasing at prices ranging from N200 to N400 per liter in various regions of the country, this is only a small step in the right direction.
“To attract significant investment into the sector for the benefit of the nation, we need to gradually move from here to possibly full deregulation.”
The current subsidy is primarily enjoyed by a select few individuals involved in various stages of the value chain. For everyone’s benefit, the government ought to work toward sector opening.
On the other hand, it was also discovered that the oil marketers were at work on the proposal they plan to present to the federal government. An industry source claims that the proposal would include the petroleum Industry Act’s full implementation and total deregulation. PIA.
Expect the elimination of subsidies—Minister Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, budget, and national planning, made this clear in an interview with ARISE TV yesterday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which Vanguard monitored.
She had stated, We have had to borrow money to purchase refined petroleum products when the government does not have enough revenue to do so. That amounts to approximately N3.25 trillion if we subtract that. That we do not incur any more costs than we anticipated in 2023 is a significant relief.
Ahmed had stated: “The prolonged era of the Coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria was to blame for the delay in the removal of the subsidy.” Recognizing that the COVID-19 pandemic’s lingering effects and rising inflation meant that removing the fuel subsidy at the time would have placed an even greater financial burden on citizens, a collective decision was made.
The president does not want to think about taking measures that will make life even harder for the people. As a result, the decision was made to extend the time period from June 2022 to January 2022 by an additional 18 months.
Therefore, we ought to be able to leave in June 2023. The good news is that everyone seems to be agreeing that this thing needs to go. The majority of Nigerians are not benefiting from it.
I listened to some of the new leaders campaigning for the country’s next leadership, who promised to get rid of it quickly.
“What will be safer is for the current administration to begin removing the fuel subsidy, possibly at the beginning of the second quarter. It is more expedient to remove it gradually rather than all at once.
Therefore, our goal for the budget is to keep subsidy costs under N3.23 trillion. Therefore, it is a procedure regardless of whether it is completed entirely by June or July, or any other date.
Organized Labour reacts with shock and calls for widespread rejection in response to the fuel price increase, describing it as the “last kick of a dying regime.”
“It is shocking that this government has decided to add to the suffering of Nigerians in the midst of unbearable hardship occasioned by anti-people’s policies of the government,” said a top labor leader who spoke with Vanguard on condition of anonymity because organized labor needs to meet and take a full decision on the matter.
The organized labor movement as well as the plight of the entire Nigerian populace cannot accept this increase. Nigerians aren’t ready to die with the regime, so we see this increase as the final kick. We can’t stay in this lane any longer. The government cannot continue to punish Nigerians for its failures.
We have agreed that we will not discuss any of the issues until the local refineries are operational. It is wicked, insensitive, and provocative to the extreme.
Not only will we resist the Nigerian masses, but also ordinary Nigerians and workers will voice their discontent at the polls. The belief that Nigerians must control their own destiny has grown stronger as a result of the increase.