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| Photo Credit; Gistus.com |
The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress on Monday called on the Federal Government to come out with a more realistic template for determining the right cost of a litre of petrol in the country.
Although the groups welcomed the reduction of the pump price from N97 to N87 per litre, they argued that it was far from what the cost of the product should be.
They spoke just as most filling stations still sold petrol at the old price of N97 instead of the N87 announced on Sunday night by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
The congress also said that the government had denied Nigerians the full benefits of the falling price of crude oil in the international market with the devaluation of the naira.
It said, “The reduction in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit from N97 to N87 per litre is a welcome development. However in our estimation, it is not sufficiently deep enough.
“The N10 price slash translates to 10.3 per cent reduction compared to 33 per cent price reduction in most countries. For instance, in the United States the price dipped to under $2 from $3 per gallon.”
The NLC also said that the price reduction should have come from the board of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, the body entrusted with the responsibility of fixing the prices of petroleum products.
The labour body however appealed to transport operators to ensure that Nigerians benefit from the price reduction.
When asked why the price had yet to be reduced by N10 as announced by the government, a senior official of an NNPC Mega Station in Abuja said, “we still have a lot of old stock.”
The official, who pleaded not to be named as he was not authorised to speak on the matter, added, “the price will come down by tomorrow (Tuesday). You should not expect it to fall immediately.”
Both Conoil and Total filling stations opposite the headquarters of the NNPC in Abuja however sold at the new price of N87 per litre.
When contacted, an official in the Media Unit of the Department of Petroleum Resources, said that enforcement officers had been sent out to monitor petrol stations in the FCT.
He said, “It is not surprising that some of them (filling stations) have yet to comply. But they will have themselves to blame if our enforcement officers get them because various teams have been deployed to monitor compliance by marketers.”
In Bayelsa State, a visit to some filling stations in Yenagoa revealed that apart from the NNPC mega stations, others sold a litre of petrol above N100.
At Jovero filling station on Isaac Adaka Boro Expressway, fuel was still being sold for N105 per litre.
A motorist, who gave his name only as Preye, said he confronted the fuel attendants but was told that that was what they had been selling.
When our correspondent in the state enquired from an attendant, he said they had yet to get instruction from their boss on the new price.
At Ereboter Filling station on Swali Road, motorists paid N105 per litre even though the price on the dispensers read N97 .
At Atlanta Oil and Gas at Amarata on Yenagoa-Mbiama Road, the price was the same.
Like Bayelsa, some filling stations in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, were seen selling petrol at N105, N100, and N97. Such stations are Dan Dollars Oil Nigeria Limited, N97; Entaco N100, and Bruce Integrated, N105.
Many, such as Ekpo Ekpo Integrated Ventures Limited, along Atiku Abubakar Road, Uyo, shut down their operation.
GWT Mega Station also along the same road, Uyo only dispensed the product with two out of its 12 nozzles.
A manager at Ekpo Ekpo Integrated Ventures, who refused to disclose his name, said they were waiting for fresh supply.
The only filling station in the city that had reverted to the current price was the NNPC Mega Station along Ikot Ekpene Road.
In Cross River State, the product sold for N97 in stations operated by major marketers and as high as N110 in others managed by independent dealers.
An attendant, who spoke on condition of anonymity at the MRS Filling Station along Mayne Avenue in Calabar, said they would maintain the status quo until their old product was exhausted.
When contacted, the state chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association, Effiong Udoh, said marketers could not afford to start selling at N87 at the moment.
“Most of these marketers got loans to buy the product at N97, where do you expect them to get the difference when the Federal Government is not giving us any form of subsidy?” he asked.
Pump price also remained unchanged in Jos as attendants claimed that they had yet to be briefed on the decision by the Federal Government.
A manager at one of the stations, who gave his name simply as Andrew, said, “We are yet to get any directive from the marketer on what to do. We are still waiting. But who will mitigate the cost we will incur since we still have old stock.
Most filing stations in Osogbo, Osun State also did not adjust their meters to reflect the new pump price of N87 .
An official of one of the stations along Odi Olowo Street, Osogbo, however said that they would soon begin to sell at the new price.
However, the NNPC mega station along Ring Road in the city sold a litre of petrol for N87.
In Umuahia, Abia State , many stations sold for N100 per litre. Some others did not open for business.
The reduction was however greeted with a high level of compliance by most stations in Benin, Edo State.
Among the petrol stations that were seen selling at the new price were the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation mega filling station along Sapele Road, Zeeko Oil and Total along Akpakpava Road.
But the Edo State Petroleum Monitoring Committee sealed off one of the Oando stations in the state capital for failing to comply with the new pump price.
SOURCE PUNCHNG
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