TheCable

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) says consumers who want to buy petrol at cheaper prices are responsible for the long queues at filling stations in the country.

Mike Osatuyi, national operations controller, IPMAN, said this on Tuesday.

Osatuyi said petrol queues may persist across the nation if consumers and motorists continue to buy the product at selected filling stations dispensing below N200 per litre.

In the last few months, Nigerians have suffered from a lingering petrol scarcity evidenced by queues at filling stations.

The situation drove pump prices to over N230 per litre, while the black marketers sold for as high as N300.

But in a telephone conversation with TheCable, Osatuyi, insisted that there was no more petrol scarcity in the country.

He said the filling stations not dispensing at the moment may be out of stock, stressing that the lingering queues were caused by Nigerians in search of petrol from cheaper retail outlets.

“There is petrol in the country. No more scarcity, however, the long queues you still see on the expressways are caused by those who want to buy petrol at N180 per litre. Otherwise, those who can afford the more expensive product can easily drive into other stations and buy without queuing up,” Osatuyi said.

“Those filling stations not selling at the moment are probably out of stock and I believe between now and next week, operations and sales will normalise.”

Last year, the IPMAN said its members were not responsible for the petrol scarcity, blaming the federal government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited for failing to make the products available for its members at affordable prices.