Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN along with other players and stakeholders in the oil and gas industry have said that the current price cap of N145 per liter of petrol is no longer feasible and that the price will have to go up.
According to the market operators, a further price hike in petrol is not insensitivity but rather just simple law of economics and that the availability of Petrol might become constrained again.
According to the Vanguard, National President, IPMAN, Mr. Chinedu Okoronkwo, spoke on the situation saying “But I will advise for total deregulation. The price moderation, which is the cap placed is not healthy for the petroleum industry to grow.
“There are people who have the FOREX to bring product and sell. By so doing, FOREX will crash. But when the industry is over protected like ours, the current challenges will be unending. The market force should drive the price.”
He added, “If the refineries are working to a good capacity like 70 percent, the product will not be less than N130 per litre. We should focus on making the refineries work. Because by the time you keep on importing, FOREX challenges will keep on re-occurring and there would no head way.
“The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC should ensure that the refineries are working, as well as the government should grant all support needed to ensure that they work so the country can avert all of the turbulence hitting the petroleum sector as well as the economy.”