By Victor AhiumaYoung, Yinka Kolawole, Obas Esiedesa, Ebunoluwa Sessou, Gabriel Ewepu, Ediri Ejoh, Mariam Eko, Shakirat Oshiomhogho, Adenike Badmus, & Fathia Dauda; edited by Udeme Akpan, Energy Editor

LAGOS:Concerns about the effects of the most recent increase in petrol prices on jobs and the economy were voiced yesterday by a number of organisations, including the Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), and Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA).

This occurred yesterday when private depot owners in Lagos and the surrounding areas raised the depot price of petrol by 35.2% to N960 per litre from N710 per litre, or around 12.3% more than the N855/ltr retail price that the petroleum sector authorities purportedly mandated.

Independent petroleum marketers, who primarily utilise private deports, are required to set their pump pricing at a rate higher than N1,000 per litre at the new depot price.

Though they had increased the price by 54.3% from N580/ltr, the big oil marketers and NNPC Ltd sold at N895/ltr because they lifted the product from NNPC deports at a far lower rate.

Visits to the depots, including Satellite, which had previously been closed due to pricing uncertainty following a pump price hike, revealed that depot owners selling the product at N960 per litre were Coolspring, Integrated, Sharami, Ibeto, Ibchem, and Aipec.

Vanguard’s checks revealed that the product’s supply is still insufficient and unstable because huge lines were still visible at many filling stations that had the product, while numerous outlets that did not had it were closed.
In certain areas of Lagos and Abuja, black market vendors also profited from the situation by selling gasoline in jerry cans for between N1,200 and N1,500 per litre.

Commuters had to pay higher rates since transporters who were able to purchase the product could not afford it.

Nevertheless, investigations conducted in Abuja, Lagos, and the neighbouring areas revealed that the majority of petrol stations were still devoid of the item. There were obvious long lines at the few stations that had opened.

Long lines formed at the NNPC station in Nyanya, a suburb of the capital city, even after the station raised the pump price from N617 to N897 per litre.

Speaking with Vanguard, two motorists who were waiting pointed out that although prices had gone up, purchasing at NNPC stations was still the roughest but also the cheapest option.