By Abiola Olawale
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has called out to the Federal Government to compel the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to give a comprehensive analysis as to why they fixed the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as fuel lifted from Dangote refinery at N960/N1000 per litre.
IPMAN National Welfare Officer John Kekeocha, made this call while speaking with the press on Monday.
Kekeocha said it makes no sense for NNPCL to sell fuel higher than imported ones.
He pointed out that before NNPCL started lifting petrol from the Dangote Refinery its retail outlets were selling N897 per litre.
He queried why a litre of Dangote petrol now sells for N950 per litre in Lagos and N1,019 in Borno.
He said: “If NNPC can sell Dangote products higher than the imported products then it doesn’t make sense. What is the celebration we are having all these while then?”
The New Diplomat reports that the NNPCL began loading the first batch of petrol from the Dangote Refinery on Sunday.
The NNPCL said it got petrol at N898 per litre from the private refinery.
However, Dangote Refinery denied selling petrol to the NNPCL at N898.
A spokesman for the refinery, Anthony Chiejina, in a statement late Sunday, described the claim by the NNPCL as “misleading and mischievous”.
He said: “It should also be noted that we sold the products to NNPCL in dollars with a lot of savings against what they are currently importing. With this action, there will be petrol in every local government area of the country regardless of their remote nature.”