Petrol prices in Nigeria have climbed to between N1,310 and N1,345 per litre, up from a previous range of N1,210 to N1,275 in less than two weeks, with fuel retailers attributing the increase to international market pressures and the cost at which suppliers sell petroleum products.
Abubakar Maigandi, national president of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), said the escalating conflict involving the United States and Iran was the principal driver of the latest rise. He explained that movements in global crude and oil-product prices can feed through to Nigerian pump prices, causing them to rise or fall. In his view, the continuing tensions mean fuel prices may keep moving in either direction.
Billy Gillis-Harry, national president of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), focused on the purchase price paid by retailers. He said the amount charged by suppliers directly determines what filling stations must charge consumers, and placed responsibility for the latest increase on the suppliers rather than the retail outlets.
Gillis-Harry said retailers cannot purchase petrol at N1,500 per litre and sell it for N1,499, even if international crude prices subsequently decline. A modest margin is necessary to cover financing, services, transportation, overheads and other operating expenses. Retailers, he added, generally sell at prices that reflect their acquisition costs and the expenses involved in running their businesses.
He rejected the idea that filling stations arbitrarily impose inflated prices, saying their prices are based on the supply chain and are intended to ensure that Nigerian consumers continue to receive petroleum products. The immediate cause of the increase, he maintained, lies with the suppliers from whom retailers obtain the fuel.
