Amidst the persisting petrol scarcity in the country, major marketers have implemented a fresh hike of price from N180 per litre to over N190 in Abuja and Lagos, just as Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) retail stations increased the rate from N179 to N185 during the weekend.
However, the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, on Friday, denied any increase in the price of petrol. The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, recently said the government would immediately commence the removal of petrol subsidy in phases before the termination date in June this year.
A marketer, Abdullahi Yusuf, told Daily Trust on Sunday that they were raising their prices based on the increase in wholesale price at the depots.
“The ex-depot price is above the N148 official rate, and at times the depots sell at N160. So, we adjust our prices accordingly,” he said.
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The NNPC has remained the sole importer of petrol since 2017.
It was observed that Rain Oil in Gwarinpa, Abuja, whose depot was suspended two weeks ago for high ex depot price, has continually sold at N190/l. There are other less known stations selling at over N200/l in Abuja and neighbouring states.
But in the statement, Sylva said President Muhammadu Buhari had not approved any price increase for fuel as has been bandied around.
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