Despite the gradual build up of fuel scarcity in Lagos and some parts of the country, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has insisted that its members were not on strike.
The association however stated that its members have not been operating optimally because of the hostile operating environment.
The Lagos Zonal Chairman of IPMAN, Akin Akinrinade gave the explanation in an interview with Channels Television.
The Herald can report that many passengers were stranded at various bus stops in Lagos on Monday morning due to low turnout of commercial vehicles attributed to fuel scarcity.
A visit to some petrol stations in Alimosho area of Lagos on Tuesday morning showed that many were not dispensing petrol and the few that did so experienced a deluge of buyers.
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“Members of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria IPMAN have shut down their stations, not because we are striking; we are not on strike.
“Rather, the business environment has been very hostile to us such that we can no longer do business under this condition. For you to load a litre of petrol, you pay in N162 per litre,” Akinrinade said.
He explained that selling the product at the recommended price of N165 was no longer feasible because the landing cost of petrol was between N175 to N178 per litre.
“Our members can no longer sell (petrol) at N165 per litre; in fact, there is no reasonable person in this business that can sell below N180 per litre, so it is not as if we are on strike,” Akinrinade said.