Independent petroleum marketers have expressed concern over the rising price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, otherwise known as petrol, in private depots to N710 per litre.

With the increase, petrol pump price at outlets operated by independent marketers also rose to between N730 and N750 per litre which has led to queues at some stations operated by major marketers and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, where pump prices are cheaper at N610 and N568 per liter respectively.

A visit to the private depots in Satellite and Apapa areas of Lagos, showed that prices varied as the product were sold at between N701 and N735 per litre. The depots with the highest price include Bovas depot which sold petrol to independent marketers at N762 per litre followed by MRS depot with N735 per liter.

The lowest prices were at Rainoil depot with N705 per liter, Emadeb depot with N705 per liter, while depot owned by Eterna Oil and Sahara also known as Asharami depot sold at N701 per liter respectively.

One of the independent marketers who spoke on condition of anonymity stated “most major marketers own tank farms in Lagos and they buy directly from NNPC. Scarcity has eased out a bit because NNPC supply mainly to major marketers but we the independent marketers are struggling as we depend on these major marketers for products.

“The major marketers buy at NNPCL rate of N548 to N550 per liter and they sell to us at N705, the cheapest is N701 per liter. These major marketers have filling stations in Lagos and other states but in Lagos they sell in their various stations at N610 to N620 per liter.

“IPMAN stations in Lagos are struggling as we are unable to sell due to the price difference making the market highly competitive. Our people outside Lagos are the ones selling as they benefit from the high price that it’s being sold over there.

He noted “when we buy from these major marketers at N705 per liter, NUPENG will charge us per the number of liters we purchase and then we add transportation cost of N15 to our filling stations, the price at the pump will be sold at N740 to N750 per liter”

Meanwhile, in a telephone interview with Vanguard, the National President, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Alhaji Abubakar Migandi Garima, stated that the supply hitches witnessed in the past few weeks have eased, adding that the situation in the country has gradually improved as marketers have started lifting the products from NNPC depots.

“Some of our members have started direct purchase through NNPCL, but the allocation from them is very low and cannot sustain all our members, therefore we have to go through private deports and buy from them to augment our various stations. For our members that buy from the private deports, automatically the price will change at their stations as they sell at a higher rate compared to major marketers”.

Findings by Vanguard indicated that some independent marketers partner with some major marketers to get petroleum products at NNPC price in order to stay afloat.