Petrol Price May Drop Below ₦800 as FG Meets Marketers

‎The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association have asked  Federal Government to restore their right to import petroleum products, saying the pump price of petrol could fall below ₦800 per litre under the right market conditions.

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‎The National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Abubakar Maigandi, made the call on Monday, 7th July during a stakeholders’ meeting on cost-reflective pricing of petrol at the headquarters of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA in Abuja.

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‎The meeting was convened by the Federal Government following concerns that falling global crude oil prices had not matched into a corresponding reduction in local petrol prices.

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‎Maigandi urged the government to allow independent marketers to import petrol directly while also supporting local refineries, including the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

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‎He stated, “Our major concern is that if products are to be distributed, let IPMAN buy products directly from the Dangote refinery and then, if we request importation, let IPMAN import by themselves. What we are trying to encourage is our local refinery. Let the government allow the local refinery to function properly and assist those who intend to refine products too,”.

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‎The IPMAN president said independent marketers had already reduced pump prices by about ₦125 per litre nationwide and were prepared to reduce further if supply costs dropped.

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‎However, speaking after the meeting, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, said the Federal Government was worried that petrol prices had not fallen in line with the decline in global crude oil prices.

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‎He added that the government had communicated the concerns of consumers to operators and directed them to return with practical measures that would lead to lower petrol prices.

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‎The meeting held at the headquarters of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority in Abuja, brought together the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission,FCCPC,  the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria,MEPAN,  the Depot and Petroleum Products Retailers Association of Nigeria, the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, and other major operators in the sector.

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