Hike in PMS price is inevitable, says IPMAN

The speculation about possible increase in price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, otherwise known as petrol, may hold some substance as the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, yesterday warned of threat to product availability in the country.  

This came as expert blamed marketers of insensitivity to price moderation when government placed a cap on petrol price in May. But, other operators have argued that the price of petrol was driven by laws of economies, which could not be altered for a long time due to foreign exchange challenges. Speaking to Vanguard, National President, IPMAN, Mr. Chinedu Okoronkwo, said: “But I will advice for total deregulation. The price moderation, which is the cap placed is not healthy for the petroleum industry to grow. “There are people who have the forex to bring product and sell. By so doing, forexwill crash. But when the industry is over-protected like ours, the current challenges will be unending. The market force should drive the price. “If the refineries are working to a capacity of 70 percent, the product will not be less than N130 per litre. We should focus on making the refineries work because by the time you keep on importing, forex challenges will keep on recurring and there would no head way. “The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, should ensure that the refineries are working and government should grant all support needed to ensure that they work, so the country can avert all of the turbulence hitting the petroleum sector as well as the economy.