Marketers give terms for selling petrol at N123.50k

• Govt must make them comply, says chamber
• ‘Nigeria earns $32.63b from oil, gas in 2018’

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association (IPMAN) yesterday said its members would not comply with the new N123.50k per litre price of petrol until they exhausted their old stock.

The Federal Government had, through the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), announced a further reduction of the pump price of petrol from N125 to N123.50k per litre.

In a statement in Abuja on Tuesday night, the Executive Secretary of the agency, Abdulkadir Saidu, said:
“PPPRA, in line with the government approval for a monthly review of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) pump price, hereby announces Guiding PMS pump price of N123.50 per Litre.

“The guiding price which becomes effective April 1, 2020, shall apply at all retail outlets nationwide for the month of April, 2020.”

Saidu added that the PPPRA and other relevant regulatory agencies would continue to monitor compliance with extant regulations for a sustainable downstream petroleum sector.He said members of the public and all oil marketing companies should be guided accordingly.

The PPPRA had earlier on March 18 reduced the pump price of petrol from N145.00 to N125.00 due to the fall in the price of crude oil in the international market following the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus.

The agency hinted that from April 1, it would start a new pricing modulation that would reflect the global market fundamental.

But in a swift reaction, the IPMAN said its members would not comply with the new price adjustment until the old stock was exhausted.

The latest adjustment came less than two weeks after the Federal Government reduced the price from N145 to N125.

Addressing a press conference in Kano, IPMAN chairman in the state, Alhaji Bashir Ahmad Danmallam, said the association had already directed members to sell their product at N125 per litre, insisting that “until the last drop of old stock is exhausted, no one will stock in debt to dispense at N123.50.”

According to him, IPMAN is the largest employer of labour besides the Federal Government, adding that members of the union would not continue to operate at a loss.

Danmallam accused the PPPRA of trying to sabotage the Federal Government’s efforts to ensure sustained fuel supply across the country through policies that could plunge the sector into a serious crisis.

“The last time the Federal Government reduced the pump price of the product from N145 per litre to N125 per litre, our members nationwide lost over N5.5 billion as a result of the sudden reduction.

“We called on government for compensation or support for our members who are already in a huge loss due to the sudden reduction in fuel pump price but nothing was given to us.

“But to our surprise, the private depots owners were paid, none of our members was supported to reduce the loss we incurred. This time around, we will not sell our products until the old stocks are exhausted.

“Even though we are happy with the new development and the Federal Government should be commended for the gesture, the government should consider the fact that no sane marketer or businessman will continue operating at a loss.”

But the Onitsha Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ONICCIMA) urged the Federal Government to urgently enforce complete compliance with the new pump price in the filling stations nationwide.

According to a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report, the chamber’s Vice President, Finance, Mr. Sunny Nwachukwu, in a statement yesterday, expressed displeasure that most filling stations were still selling at N145.00.

According to him, it is worrisome that the price review, which is made to mitigate the pains of Nigerians at this time, is being flouted

The March 18 price adjustment was to begin immediately. However, it was gathered that two weeks on, marketers in Onitsha and parts of Anambra have refused to adjust.

Nwachukwu said: “This reduction was an action taken by the Federal Government to reflect the current crash in the global price per barrel of crude oil.

“The irony of this lowered official pump price of petrol is on the compliance by the independent marketers in virtually all filling stations with the exception of the NNPC stations.

“The FG’s directives given on petrol official pump price reduction, along with other products (Diesel and Kerosene), to our National Oil Company, was targeted for the benefit of all Nigerians.This is yet to be effected by filling stations.Had this price review been the other way round, an upward review, every filling stationwould have happily rushed and quickly adjusted its dispensing meters instantly, even before the news filters out officially in the country.”

Nwachukwu described the non-compliance of oil marketers as a clear corrupt practice being perpetrated against the vulnerable masses and petroleum products consumers nationwide

“The monitoring team from the PPPRA, Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) or the Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR) should please do something about this reluctance and lawlessness, exhibited by these products marketers all over the nation. This must be enforced.”

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiatives (NEITI) has said Nigeria earned a total of $32.63 billion from the oil and gas sector in 2018.

NEITI disclosed this in the Oil and Gas Industry Audit Report released in Abuja, on Monday.

It said that the amount represented a 55 per cent increase on the $20.99 billion recorded in the sector in 2019.
A breakdown of the $32.63 billion earned in 2018 showed that company-level financial flows into government coffers were $16.6 billion, while flows from sales of federation crude oil and gas accounted for $16.billion.

“A five-year trend analysis of the earnings from the extractive sector showed a 54.6 per cent drop from 54.6 billion dollars in 2014 to 24.8 billion dollars in 2015.

“The earnings further dropped by 31.2 per cent to $17.05 billion in 2016, but increased by 23 per cent to $20.99 billion in 2017 and by 55 per cent to $32.63 billion in 2018,” it said.

Though the last two years bucked the trend of persisted decrease since 2014, the revenues from the sector in 2018 were still a staggering 40 per cent.

According to the report, this is below the $54.6 billion earned in 2014 when oil prices commenced a precipitous fall.
The 2018 audit reconciled payments by 71 companies and the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) that met the materiality threshold set for the exercise.

It noted that a total of eight government entities were also covered by the audit.

“Out of the $32.63 billion earned from the sector in 2018, the sum of $19.92 billion was transferred [directly] into the Federation Account, $5.21billion and $4.04billion were transferred into the JV Cash Call Account and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) designated accounts respectively.”