The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has accused the oil marketers in Nigeria of trying to force an increase in the pump price of petrol by hoarding the product to worsen the fuel scarcity crisis in the country.
The National President of PENGASSAN, Francis Johnson listed the bodies involved to include Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association, and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, The Punch reported.
Various reports across the country monitored by The Herald Nigeria showed that marketers were now selling the product from between N200 and N400 instead of the N130 per litre set by the PPPRA.
Johnson said, “And let me say it here that the oil marketers are complaining, they ’ ve been looking for ways to increase fuel price. But the labour unions , Trade Union Congress , Nigeria Labour Congress , Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers and PENGASSAN are the ones who still fight and say to the marketers that they can ’ t do that. All of the marketers , IPMAN , DAPPMA , MOMAN , etc, have been agitating for petrol price increase.
“ They give you so many reasons , they say dollar is not accessible , they say this , they say that , but we tell them ‘ no’ , you can ’ t do that. And so subtle hoarding begins to take place, they start looking for ways to force the government to increase price. That is the game . ”
Johnson while absolving PENGASSAN of any complicity added, “ Like I told you earlier, left to the marketers , PMS will be selling at N 500 per litre because they are there to make profits.
“They say they don’ t have access to crude oil, they lack access to dollars and that it is only the NNPC that is importing . We said go and import , but they said if they must do that, fuel should be increased to N 170 per litre . ”