By Akinmole David
The marketers said private depot owners are responsible for the hike in petrol prices. In a statement marketers released yesterday, they said buying from depots owners at N185 per liter is too high, adding that if other expenses are added, the pump price of petrol would increase to N200 per liter.
They, therefore, implored the federal government to revive all the depots belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in the southeast to enable them to get petrol at a regulated price.
The statement reads: “It is no longer news that premium motor spirit, known as petrol, is sold at N200 per liter in the Eastern part of Nigeria, including Portharcourt, Enugu, Owerri, Awka, Uyo, Cross River, Aba, Yenagoa, Makurdi, Lokoja. The real cause of the hike in price is the incessant increment in the price of premium spirits from private depot owners. A litre of fuel is being sold to us at the rate of N185 per litre.
“When you add transport and logistics including the exploitation by NUPENG in the name of union fee, which is over N120,000 per truck, the price will be more than N200 per liter. Even at N200 per litre, considering the high cost of diesel to power the station and the exploitation from private tank depot owners and NUPENG, our business cannot thrive. Our various associations have met and resolved to withdraw our services.
“Hence, we cannot cope with the harsh environment of doing business, caused by private depot owners and NUPENG. We’re calling on the federal government to revive our various NNPC depots within the Eastern zone to enable us to get premium motor spirit at a regulated price.
The marketers also called on the Nigeria Labour Congress and the management of NNPC to appeal to the leadership of NUPENG to lessen their burden by reducing the loading fee.
