BLACK market sellers are currently taking advantage of the few day’s strike actions by tanker drivers, as the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, skyrocketed, hitting ₦1000 per litre in some parts of Lagos State.
According to media reports, most filling stations in Lagos State, Ogun State, and its environs, especially those belonging to the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), were closed, while long queues were beginning to build up at stations belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN).
While prices have climbed to N1000 per litre at the black market, MEMAN stations such as Eterna, NorthWest, TotalEnergies, Mobil, Capital Oil, Enyo, Conoil, ForteOil, MRS, and others have varied prices ranging between ₦599-₦615 per litre.
However, most IPMAN stations at the moment are closed due to a low supply of products, while those with products sell for nothing less than ₦650 per litre.
The Chairman of Satellite Depot of IPMAN, Lagos State, said NNPCL no longer supplies its members with products.
“NNPCL no longer give us products despite that the pipeline in our area has been repaired. We don’t know why they stopped using the pipeline to supply us with products. Maybe they fear vandalism. We now rely on private depots who sell to us at an ex-depot price of between ₦620/₦622 per litre. By the time we take the products to our stations, the landing cost will be around ₦630 or more, depending on the distance from the depot to our stations.
“Some people are selling around ₦650. It would have been cheaper if we bought directly from NNPCL at around ₦555 per litre,” he said.
The development comes following strike actions over operational challenges being faced by members of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and the Petroleum Tanker Drivers.
The drivers, who commenced the strike on Monday, however, called it off on Tuesday after a meeting with the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, oil marketers and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The National President of NARTO, Othman Yusuf, directed members to immediately resume petroleum loading activities after a meeting held in Abuja.
