ABUJA — Against the backdrop of continued shortages and queues at petrol stations, pump prices are now settling at higher ranges across independent marketers and some major marketers.

Vanguard findings in Lagos and Abuja also show that gaps between prices at major marketers’ filling stations and those of independent marketers are widening with major marketers maintaining relatively stable prices while independent marketers have adjusted their prices upwards by between 20 and 30 percent.

While major marketers are selling at an average of N605 per litre, the independents are selling at an average of N730 per litre.
However, Vanguard findings also show extreme cases, both low and high, as a few major marketers are selling below N600/ltr while some are selling up to N900/ltr in the outskates of major cities.

Also while black market prices went as high as N1500/ltr the operators are still getting significant patronage as long queues persist in petrol stations across the cities.

‘Major marketers in B2B transactions’

Independent marketers have attributed the seemingly worsening situation to a systems breakdown in the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, while hinting at a thriving Business2-Business, B2B, transactions amongst the petroleum marketers in favour of the major marketers.

They also hinted that the system breakdown may have led to an undue advantage for the major marketers as independent marketers no longer have direct access to imported consignments of the product at the depots at the stipulated depot prices.