“Learn From Kenya”: Oil Marketers Fear Petrol Price May Surge Above N617 With Exchange Rate Instability
- Oil marketers have urged President Bola Tinubu to reverse petrol subsidy removal
- They noted that if the exchange rate keeps rising, the price of the product would soar
- They want Nigeria to take a cue from Kenya and reinstate petrol subsidy
Oil marketers have encouraged President Bola Tinubu to progressively ease the withdrawal of subsidies on Premium Motor Spirit, more commonly known as petrol given the inability of importers to obtain US dollars and the effects this was having on businesses prompted.
This is coming after the president urged stakeholders and Nigerians to keep calm and avoid unnecessary tension following the recent threat from the Nigeria Labour Congress as he assured that there is no intention to raise petrol price.
Source: UGC
Recall that Legit.ng earlier reported that the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) hinted that there would be changes in the pump price of fuel in the country.
Markers tell Nigeria to learn from Kenya
Marketers of petroleum products urged the President to take a lesson from Kenya, pointing out that the African nation had to reinstate the petrol subsidy to lessen the terrible effects that its removal had on Kenyans.
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Mohammed Shuaibu, the secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abuja-Suleja, told The Punch:
Let them not do the needful, they will see the consequences. We learned this morning that Kenya, which equally removed subsidy and noticed that its effect was telling on the citizens, has again resumed the subsidy regime for the period of two months.
He added that Nigeria, an oil-producing country with four refineries, shouldn't be dependent on oil and that government is for the people and must have a listening ear.
Even though the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited stated earlier on Tuesday, 15th August 2023 that it has no intention of raising the price of petrol, Shuaibu contended that if the exchange rate keeps rising, the price of the product would soar over its current N617/litre in a matter of weeks.
He added that the price of petroleum products in this country is mostly determined by FX and that when Tinubu announced the elimination of subsidies, some observers predicted issues.
Government must quickly in eliminating subsidies
Marketers, in Shuaibu's opinion, are unwilling to import goods once more; therefore, if the government decides to temporarily relax the elimination of subsidies, it must act quickly.
In light of the current state of the currency and the likelihood that petrol prices will increase, he said it would be good to relax the elimination of subsidies at this time.
Meanwhile, some retailers had predicted that petrol subsidies would progressively encroach if the NNPCL keeps selling petrol at N617 per litre, particularly if the increase in the exchange rate continues.
According to Chief Chinedu Ukadike, national public relations officer for the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, the full elimination of subsidies will result in tremendous suffering.
He stated:
Trips that used to be N5,000 in the past and now over N15,000. Businesses are shutting down. The suffering is rising. The government has to intervene now.
Fuel Stations Shut Down in Lagos Amid Fear Petrol May Sell for N1000/Litre
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that in Lagos State, major and independent petroleum product distributors have closed their dispensing locations due to concerns about a potential increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol.
According to our source, most gas stations have closed, and those still open have seen record-breaking lengthy lines of cars.
Source: Legit.ng
