A representative of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association (IPMAN), Adekunle Sanusi, says there was no official communication with the petrol station owners about this week's petrol price increase.
“We woke up yesterday to discover that NNPC Limited (retail outlet) has adjusted their own pump price,” he said on Wednesday on Nigeria Info 99.3 Lagos FM's Morning Crossfire.
He also said the petrol scarcity in Nigeria wasn't the independent marketers's fault but that of the NNPCL's distribution system.
"For NNPC to adjust the pump price from N618 to N855, automatically the independent marketers will also adjust their own pump price,” he told Nigeria Info.
The IPMAN representative said last year's announcement of fuel subsidy removal ended a uniform official petrol pump price.
Marketers adopt location-based pricing after adding a markup on the ex-depot price and the cost of moving petrol to the location, he added.
Sanusi, however, admitted that the supply chain was imperfect.
“I think there is a kind of communication gap between the independent petroleum marketers, the NNPC, and the depot owners,” he said.
“The issue on the ground is not about we that sell the petroleum products because we are not producing it.”
He is hopeful that petrol from the Dangote refinery, expected to go on sale this week, will lead to a decrease in the product's pump price.
