Major marketers lament negative impact of deregulation

Major marketers of petroleum products in Akwa Ibom State have lamented the negative impact of the deregulation in the oil industry, which resulted in the removal of subsidy for petrol, saying sales have dropped drastically.

Before now, price differentials existed between major and independent marketers in the sale of petroleum products, particularly that of premium motor spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol.

Before now, while major marketers including petrol depots operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) across the country sold a litre of petrol at N87 as the approved pump price, independent marketers distributed their products with a marginal increase in the price of petrol.

But with the deregulation and removal of petroleum subsidy, most petroleum product dealers are selling petrol in Akwa Ibom at N145 per litre.

According to checks, it is now easier to drive into a filling station to buy fuel at the approved pump price at almost all filling stations while motorists do not bother to drive to filling stations operated by major marketers, as the price is the same.

Speaking on this development, a manager at one of the major marketers filling stations in Uyo, the state capital, said it was difficult to dispense up to 1000 litres of fuel daily because of the new price regime.

“The deregulation is having a negative impact on our businesses, it should not have been this difficult if major marketers were given preference while lifting products at the depots. By that, it would have been possible for us to sell at N140 per litre, this would have made all the difference,’’ he said.

The manager, who did not want his name in print because he was not authorised to speak to the press, said since the introduction of the new price regime, sales had nosedived, adding that while motorists used to queue to buy petrol at their filling stations, today they hardly had enough buyers.

Further checks in Uyo reveal that motorists and other consumers of petroleum products no longer have preferences on where they choose to buy petrol since the price per litre is the same everywhere.

While the consumers say it has returned sanity into the industry, major marketers say it has hit them hard, affecting their ability to remain in business, adding that it could result in the downsizing of workers.

“If we cannot sell up to 1000 litres per day, it means we do not have need for many attendants at the filling station,’’ the manager said.

It also shows that while the price of petrol has remained at N145 per litre in all filling stations in Uyo, the price of kerosene has continued to fluctuate between N230 per litre and N270 per litre.