The Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has explained why it does not support continuous and sudden reductions in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, by the Dangote Refinery.
Gatekeepers News reports that the association’s clarification followed the decision by the President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, to slash the petrol gantry price from ₦828 to ₦699 per litre on Friday, alongside plans to enforce a new pump price regime of ₦739 per litre.
Dangote said on Sunday that he was aware that despite lower gantry prices, some filling stations still maintained high pump prices, undermining his efforts. He disclosed that MRS stations would begin selling petrol at ₦739 per litre from Tuesday, with other partners expected to follow.
“I was told that the marketers have met with (some officials) and were told to make sure that the price is maintained high. But this price we are going to introduce, we are going to start with MRS stations, most likely on Tuesday in Lagos; that ₦970 per litre, you won’t see it again,” Dangote said.
He added, “We are going to use whatever resources we have to make sure that we crash the price down. For this December and January, we don’t want people to sell petrol for more than ₦740 nationwide… If you have money to come and buy, you can pick up petrol at ₦699.”
Following reports that PETROAN was kicking against the price cuts, the association’s President, Mr Billy Gillis-Harry, addressed the issue on Channels Television’s Lunchtime Politics on Wednesday, stressing that the group was not opposed to lower petrol prices.
“It is wrong to say we are not happy with the drop in prices of petrol,” Gillis-Harry said. “We are happy if prices come down; we will be able to get lower capital for business.”
However, he explained that the concern was the financial losses incurred by marketers who had already purchased large volumes of petrol at higher prices shortly before the reduction.
“Only a few days ago, our members bought products in bulk, and they just arrived, and before they can even sell one litre, in the same market, the price has been reduced by ₦129 per litre,” he said.
“Some of these products are about 120 metric tons. Now multiply the size by ₦129 per litre. We are talking about billions of naira that is going to be lost. Who is going to pay for that money?”
Gillis-Harry emphasised that PETROAN was not opposed to Dangote or his refinery but called for better communication.
“So, we are not against Dangote at all. What we just want is that in a matter like this, when some of our members have bought some products, we should have been informed of the price reduction,” he said.
He added that operating in a deregulated market should not mean prices are changed arbitrarily without reference to market indices.
