Marketers of Premium Motor Spirit commonly known as petrol has predicted that the pump price of the product could hit N400/litre before the end of the year.
According to the marketers, the projection came as a result of the ongoing fuel scarcity which could continue till the end of the year.
The marketers pointed out that the price of the product is already about N450/litre at the black market in many states across the country.
In an interview with The Punch, the National Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Ukadike Chinedu, said that most IPMAN members, who owned bulk of the filling stations across the country, were now subjected to purchasing PMS at about N220/litre, which was why many outlets currently dispensed at about N250/litre and above.
Ukadike added that the cost of the commodity had been rising due its unavailability and other concerns in the sector, stressing that consumers should be ready to pay between N350/litre to N400/litre before the end of this year.
He said, “I’ve always discussed with you frankly on the PMS supply situation in Nigeria. A vessel arrived Port Harcourt depot and the information we got is that it is only for major marketers. This might be happening in some other locations too,”
“Where is the volume for independent marketers? We are waiting for that of independent marketers. If NNPC does not declare any volume for independent marketers, we will end up buying the product from major marketers.
“By the time we buy from major marketers, they will sell to us at about N220/litre, and you can imagine the rate which we will have to sell to consumers. So where is our quota?
“We need our quota so that we can buy at the same government approved rate. But by selling to only major marketers, they will resell to independent marketers at between N210 to N220/litre, and we don’t have any option than to buy it.”
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