THE Federal Government says it will take action to close down filling stations that are charging N1,000 per litre for petrol.
As Nigerians express their worries regarding the rising prices set by independent petrol vendors, the Federal Government has pledged to close down any filling stations found charging excessively for PMS.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) expressed this concern, emphasizing that it is not beneficial for Nigerians if marketers engage in price gouging during the sale of PMS.
Independent oil marketers have reported that they have been purchasing petrol from private depot owners at rates as high as N850 per litre since last week. They attribute the rising pump prices to this increase in their acquisition costs.
The NMDPRA spokesperson, George Ene-Ita, highlighted that the petrol price information received from their officials at the depots does not align with the reports being circulated.
He said, “Our depot people see a different price because we ask them to publish the prices at the depots every day and it is not N850/litre. Our field agents at the depots give us a different figure.
“If we get these outlets, all we do is to try and shut them down, because NNPC is the company that brings in the product and they tell us how much they sell as their ex-depot prices to off-takers. And we sit down together and work out the margins and there is no way it should be that high.
“Once we get these outlets, we are going to shut them down. NNPC tells us how much they sell and there is no way the pump prices should be that high. We don’t expect it to be higher than N650/litre.”
