As the scarcity of petrol bites harder nationwide, there are reports that the product now sells for between N110 and N150 per litre in different parts of the country, as against the regulated price of N97.
Our correspondent learnt that from Ijebu-Ode to Benin through Ore, the product was being sold for N150 per litre on Sunday.
Also, some filling stations in Lagos on Sunday sold a litre of petrol for N130, while some others sold for between N110 and N120 per litre.
Although, the marketers had not changed the pump prices, they were, however, making desperate motorists to pay N110 and above for the product in Lagos.
Admitting this anomaly in the system, a spokesperson of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Omar Ibrahim, told our correspondent on Sunday that the NNPC alone could not import, distribute and sell product across the country effectively.
He said the support of oil marketers was needed to achieve full success in the supply chain.
“It is even dangerous for the NNPC alone to be doing this. We’ll be creating a monopoly. The whole concept of privatisation will be defeated,” he said.
On the NNPC System 2B pipeline, which had been shut for weeks, Ibrahim said repair works had yet to commence on the facility as at Thursday, saying the corporation was still awaiting security reports of the Arepo area from security agents.
But market sources at Apapa told our correspondent that some marketers had started to import fuel, adding that some consignments owned by some of the marketers were already being discharged at Apapa.
However, some residents of Lagos have condemned the price hike, and called on the relevant authorities to come into the matter and restore normalcy to petrol distribution.
A Lagos motorist, Mrs. Elizabeth Benedict, urged the Department of Resources to intervene in the matter and prove its relevance in the system. “We want to see action now,” she said.
Another resident, Mr. Anthony Ogar, said operators of filling stations had continued to show no regard for directives, and needed to be penalised by relevant authorities.
The Department of Petroleum Resources had threatened to penalise oil marketers that sold petroleum products at arbitrary prices by shutting their facilities and revoking their operating licences.
The Director, DPR, Mr. Osten Olorunsola, had said, “Any marketer, who fixes arbitrary prices, shall be sanctioned and the affected facility will be shut and the operating licence withdrawn.”
He said it was illegal for any company to sell petroleum products from a depot without issuing receipts of sale.
“To this end, all marketers buying products from depots should be issued with certified receipts of purchase indicating the quantity of products purchased and the prices,” he had said.