The confusion created by the prolonged fuel scarcity worsened 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.
The minister 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.
Other critical stakeholders either feigned ignorance of the development or were out of reach to respond to reporters’ enquiries.
Several sources in the Nigeria Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency (NMDPRA), the industry regulator, said they were not aware of any price increase.
The development has fueled speculations that the federal government may have subtly begun the removal of subsidy on petrol and by extension, a complete deregulation of the sector, which for long has been the clamour of both MOMAN and IPMAN.
In 2022, the federal government spent over N6 trillion on subsidy.
