Confusion, condemnation as fuel scarcity bites harder in Lagos, Abuja, others
It was confusion galore yesterday in the oil sector after Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) increased the price of petrol to N185 per litre while the Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, denied any such increase.
He said mischief makers were the brains behind the claims of increase in the price of fuel.
Yet the fuel scarcity continued across the country amidst claims by the deputy president of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Zarma Mustapha, that petrol supply to marketers by private depots had dropped by about 40 per cent.
Mobil, Conoil, TotalEnergies, Nipco, Enyo, Forte and NORTH-WEST filling stations in Lagos adjusted their pump price early yesterday to reflect N185 per litre against N169 previously.
Motorists in Lagos who had queued for several hours at the filling stations were shocked to see the adjusted price.
Some other major filling stations in Lagos metropolis, especially Ikeja and Agege areas, did not dispense fuel.
Some marketers, who preferred anonymity, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the federal government had begun the subsidy withdrawal, urging marketers to adjust their pump price.
The marketers claimed that government might have commenced a gradual removal of petrol subsidy.
No fuel price increase, says Sylva
However, Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, denied any increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
He said in a statement through his Senior Adviser (Media & Communications), Horatius Egua, that President Muhammadu Buhari has not approved any price increase for PMS.
His words: “President Muhammadu Buhari has not approved any increase in the price of PMS or any other petroleum product for that matter. There is no reason for President Muhammadu Buhari to renege on his earlier promise not to approve any increase in the price of PMS at this time.
“Mr President is sensitive to the plight of the ordinary Nigerian and has said repeatedly that he understands the challenges of the ordinary Nigerian and would not want to cause untold hardship for the electorate.
“Government will not approve any increase of PMS secretly without due consultations with the relevant stakeholders.
“The President has not directed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) or any agency for that matter to increase the price of fuel.
“This is not the time for any price increase in pump price of PMS. Nation
