Petrol Pump Price May Jump to N750 Per Litre as Naira Crashes Against Dollar
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has warned that the pump price of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, may increase to about N750 per litre, as the naira continues to lose value against the dollar.
The association urged the government to initiate policies that would save the naira from further depreciation.
The association’s national spokesperson, Mr. Chinedu Ukadike, gave the warning while speaking to Tribune Online on Thursday in Abuja. He said that the increase was due to the dollar rate against the naira, which affects the product landing cost.
“Currently, the dollar rate at the parallel market as of today is N910 which also means that the landing cost of PMS will increase and also the domestic price of PMS will also increase. There will be a 10 percent increase because the dollar was N750, now is over N900 that is almost a 20% increase if you apply this, you should be talking about N750/ litre,” he said.
He stressed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), being the major importer of petroleum products, has yet to change its ex-depot price from N587.7, noting that once this is done other marketers will do the same.
He added that the government’s decision to remove fuel subsidy and allow market forces to determine prices has also contributed to the high cost of fuel. He said that most Nigerians consider fuel subsidy as their major or only benefit from the federal government.
He appealed to the government to intervene in the forex market and boost local production of refined petroleum products to cushion the effect of rising global oil prices.
“People should understand that government is no longer subsidising and there is no local production in Nigeria. Had it been there is local production, it can be able to cushion the effect of too many naira pursuing the dollar. It would have helped us and saved the naira. If the government does not do something drastically, before the end of this year, Naira may be close to N1,100 per dollar and this will be a serious inflation for Nigeria,” he said.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil producer and economy, but it relies heavily on imports of refined petroleum products due to its moribund refineries. The country consumes about 70 million litres of fuel daily by its estimated 200 million people.
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