24 January 2015, Enugu – Members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria in Enugu have yet to comply with the new pump price of premium motor spirit, popularly called petrol, approved by the Federal Government.
When a News Agency of Nigeria correspondent monitored the stations on Friday, five days after the pronouncement by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Allison-Madueke, most of the filling stations were selling the product between N100 and N105 per litre.
This means that they retained the price they sold the product during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
At one of the filling stations in Trans-Ekulu, the Manager, Mr Peter Nwafor, explained that they were yet to exhaust their old stock bought at a higher price.
“We will comply with the new price regime when we finish the old stock that we have. We will have a very serious loss if we should sell at N87.
“We are still selling at N100 and our customers are still patronising us because they know that we do not adjust our meter to short-change them,” he said.
The Manager of another station, Miss Nneka Nnaji, said they had not started selling at the new pump price because they bought the product at an old rate which she did not disclose.
“I am ready to sell at the normal price. To revert to the new price will not be a problem for us, but it must be within the range at which we bought the product.
“I will even appreciate if the price will come back to N65 per litre,” she said.
A motorist, Mr Chukwudi Ozoemena, told NAN that he was happy with the new price regime but called on relevant government agencies to ensure the compliance of marketers.
He noted that the enforcement had become necessary to enable the residents of the state to enjoy the reduction as directed by the Federal Government.
– NAN
