Petrol consumers have continued to groan under the burden of skyrocketing prices, as Premium Motor Spirit almost hit N400 per litre over the weekend.
National Controller, Operations, IPMAN, Mike Osatuyi, revealed the price of the product was likely to hit N400 per litre.
According to him, his members now buy products at N280/litre at depots.
President Muhammadu Buhari had last week set up a 14-man committee that he would be heading to proffer solutions to the lingering fuel scarcity.
Osatuyi disclosed that the committee would be inaugurated this week.
“With the way the president has set up the committee, Nigerians should expect something good. The committee will work with operators and stakeholders and they will call us for meetings, where we will tell them what to do.
“If NNPC gives us products directly and we don’t have to pass through third parties, prices will crash. IPMAN members account for 80 per cent of products in the market. So, why won’t they give us products directly? Where MOMAN stations can’t get to, our members are there! As of the weekend, we bought the product for N280 per litre before we now add transportation on it depending on the distance. So, we will sell at any price.
“You can quote me on this. NNPC is subsidising their pockets and not Nigerians. The subsidy they claim is in their pockets,” he said.
Osatuyi alleged that the state oil firm had started to avoid talks with oil marketers, and had since abandoned them to their fate.
According to him, NNPCL had failed Nigerians as the firm was completely void of solutions to the scarcity, adding that the new Managing Director of the NNPCL Retail, Hubbs Stockman had not agreed to meet with them recently to proffer a solution to the petrol crisis.
He claimed the President would not have set up a steering committee if the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited had not failed in its responsibility to address the fuel scarcity.
“There is currently confusion in the downstream sector because NNPCL has not been able to address the scarcity. There is no fuel. Even NNPCL has not been able to import fuel, because if they have, they will give us. Now, the white man is avoiding us. He does not want to address us.
“How can you set up a system, yet refuse to meet with us for feedback? I don’t know what they are hiding from us. The white man is not open with us,” Osatuyi said.
Fuel scarcity has been lingering since the last quarter of last year, with price moving from N165 to over N300 per litre.