Nigerians have been cautioned by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, not to panic buy since there are rumours that the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) may increase.
There was a reported disagreement between fuel dealers and NNPCL (the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited) regarding the continuation of government subsidies. According to the statement, the under-recovery of fuel costs has ceased, and as a result, the price of gasoline is currently N1,200 per litre.
However, Okanlawon Olanrewaju, the public relations officer for IPMAN, stated during a news conference that petroleum marketers had no intention of raising fuel prices.
“As far as the independent marketers are concerned, we don’t have plans or plans to increase fuel pump price,” he said on Thursday.
“There is no basis for that for now. There is no signal from NNPC that we should increase. So, we cannot do that on our own except NNPC comes out and says we are going to increase pump price. On our own, there is nothing like that.
“I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the public to stop panic buying. There is nothing like that (fuel price increment). It is just a rumour.”
His statements came just hours after the NNPC asserted that the gasoline subsidy had been totally withdrawn months after President Bola Tinubu had declared its abolition and denied ever having a disagreement with IPMAN.
On May 29, during his inauguration, Tinubu said that the budget for 2023 included no funding for gasoline subsidies since they were no longer necessary.
Following the announcement, the price of gasoline per liter rose from roughly N184 to nearly N600 in certain parts of the country. Economic problems accompanied the removal of gasoline subsidies, as food inflation hit a record high.
