Against the backdrop of the ensuing scarcity of petroleum products in Nigeria, the National Operations Controller of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mike Osatuyi have pointed out that the only most realistic pump price of petrol falls between ₦200 and ₦210 per litre.
According to Osatuyi, the President Buhari led-Federal Government’s pricing template that fixed pump price at ₦169 per litre of petrol is grossly unrealistic when landing cost of the fuel at the station is ₦194 per litre.
He pointed this out while speaking in an interview with reporters on Wednesday.
‘I buy petrol at ₦186.50k per litre from the depot and it costs me about ₦9.50k to get the same litre to the pump after paying levies. How do you want me to sell at ₦169 per litre when I have incurred additional costs?‘,he said.
‘No marketer can sell petrol at the regulated price of N169 per litre with the current realities when landing cost is ₦194 per litre.
‘Those saddled with the responsibility of petroleum importation and pricing should be held responsible for the price disparities at the fuel stations.
‘The current price of petrol does not reflect inflation, Foreign Exchange costs, union dues and transportation,’ Osatuyi said.
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He went on to maintain that government’s pricing template did not address current realities and pricing indices.
‘We should have a current template that will reflect current realities in petrol business pending the time that government would deregulate the sector fully.
‘There are some cost fundamentals, additional charges, and levies that are not factored into the template currently in use,’ he noted.
Osatuyi stated that government should open up on petrol landing costs and the realistic price at the pumps.
He stressed that a total deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry remained the best option.
According to him, total deregulation remains the solution to address challenges in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry as it will allow interested investors to import freely.