Marketers Claim that Subsidy Removal has Increased Depot Gasoline Prices.
Since May 29 when subsidies were formally eliminated, gas prices at the pump have climbed by more than 100%. On Tuesday, Mike Osatuyi, the national controller of operations, said many downstream companies were now having trouble surviving due to the increase in the cost of goods at the depots.
He claims that a 33,000 metric ton truck of gasoline, which was formerly sold for N8 million before subsidies were removed, now costs between N22 million and N23 million, depending on how far the filling station is from the depots.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited claimed to have enough supplies in the nation to survive, however is was observed that the majority of filling stations in Lagos were closed.
A source in the Depots and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria had said NNPCL had ended ship-to-ship operations since full deregulation of the downstream sector was announced, and that prices would be jerked up following such a move.