The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has threatened to shut down filling stations across the country if the Federal Government attempts to impose fuel price controls on marketers despite the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector.
IPMAN’s National Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Ukadike, disclosed this in an interview with Nigerian Newssphere, warning that any move to regulate petrol prices would violate the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
His comments follow recent directives by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, who urged the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to sanction petroleum marketers found exploiting consumers through excessive fuel prices.
Similarly, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) recently warned fuel marketers against arbitrary pricing, expressing concern over what it described as exploitative petrol prices despite the decline in global crude oil prices.
International oil prices have fallen significantly in recent weeks, with Brent crude trading around $72 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) hovering near $69 per barrel following the easing of tensions linked to the Iran-Israel-United States conflict.
Despite the drop in crude oil prices and recent reductions in petrol prices by the Dangote Refinery, pump prices remain high across Nigeria. In Abuja, petrol is still sold between N1,210 and N1,300 per litre at many filling stations, prompting calls by government agencies for marketers to reflect lower costs in retail prices.
Responding to the government’s position, Ukadike insisted that marketers were already operating under severe financial pressure and warned that any attempt to enforce price controls would force operators to close their retail outlets nationwide.
According to him, petroleum marketers have collectively lost between N10 billion and N15 billion in recent weeks due to the repeated reductions in petrol prices.
He explained that marketers often purchase fuel at higher prices, only for market prices to decline before the products reach their filling stations, forcing them to sell at a loss to remain competitive.
“Capital is hard to gather. There is no buffer area for marketers. Most of us are losing between N10 billion and N15 billion due to the recent fuel price reductions. You buy at a particular price, and before the product gets to your station, the price has dropped again. We are forced to sell at a loss because if you don’t sell competitively, customers won’t buy,” he said.
Ukadike maintained that the downstream petroleum sector is fully deregulated and argued that the government cannot dictate pump prices without considering marketers’ acquisition costs.
“Marketers will shut down if they try to enforce price control. We are going to shut down our stations nationwide. You cannot regulate a deregulated market. You cannot tell me how much to sell my product without considering how much I bought it.
“You can’t be blowing hot and cold at the same time. The Petroleum Industry Act must be followed to the letter. If they try to enforce price control, we will shut down,” he added
