The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has crashed the depot price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, from N640 per litre to N630 per litre.
The NNPCL has also disclosed plans to sell directly to independent marketers instead of first taking it to private depots so final consumers would also be able to buy at cheaper rates.
The National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Abubakar Maigandi, confirmed the new price nothing that NNPC has also promised more supply.
According to The Nation, independent marketers paid for the product at the new petrol price last week.
The IPMAN President, however, said only 1% of products were supplied to marketers instead of the 50% product allocation.
Despite the small percentage, he said the market has already reacted, and a price crash is expected soon, even with the NNPC already selling the product at N570 per litre.
“The price has started reducing since NNPCL is giving independent marketers their direct allocation. NNPCL said they will give us direct product instead of taking it to private depot to sell it to us at a higher rate.
“NNPCL has started changing the price now even though they just gave us a small quantity. We are supposed to have 50 per cent of the distribution. Let’s say they have given us one per cent. Even that 1% has started changing the situation of the market.
“Depot price has started reducing. It was previously N640 per litre. But when the rumour came, we will start getting our direct allocation, they reduced it to N630 per litre. NNPCL sells at N570 per litre,” Maigandi said.