The NLC claimed that petrol marketers are exploiting Nigerians, exacerbating an already dire situation caused by the government’s harsh economic policies.
Petrol Landing Costs Fall bLBy 20.34% As NLC Accuses Marketers Of Price Inflation.
The estimated cost of landing Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, has dropped by 20.34 percent in the last three months to N971.57 per litre.
The Major Energies Marketers Association revealed this in its most recent competency centre daily energy bulletin, dated November 8, 2024.The decrease in landing costs on Nigerian shores corresponded to an equal reduction in global market fluctuations and supply chain factors.Although the country’s PMS prices should also drop in tandem with the decline, the retail price of petrol in Nigeria went up by N443 from N617 per litre on August 1, 2024, to N1,060 per litre on November 8, 2024.
MEMAN data shows that in August, oil marketers imported petrol at N1,219 per litre, based on an exchange rate of N1,611 per dollar and a benchmark Brent crude oil price of $80.72 per barrel. During this time, the price of a litre of gasoline was N617.
However, in November, the product is currently selling for N1,060 at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited retail station and N1,180 at stations owned by independent marketers, with an estimated landing cost of N971.57, a benchmark Brent crude price of $75.57 per barrel, and an exchange rate of N1,665.84 per dollar.Additionally, according to the document, the landing cost was N903.64 per litre in October 2024 and N945.63 per litre in September 2024.
The group, which has consistently supported complete deregulation of the downstream industry, typically attributes changes in petrol prices to a variety of causes, including inflation and the exchange rate.The development follows accusations by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) that petroleum marketers have inflated the price of petrol at the pump, which is much higher than its true market value.
According to the NLC, petrol marketers are taking advantage of Nigerians and exacerbating their already severe economic conditions.
The shenanigans surrounding the proper pricing of petrol (PMS) in Nigeria were noted by the NEC-in-session with growing dismay. Given that the product’s current price is much higher than its true market value, it was noted that fat cats in the industry might be banding together against Nigerians.Given the disclosures from the ongoing dispute between the Dangote Group and marketers, it appears that padding of costs and abnormal margins are the norm. The domestic public refineries might not be permitted to start up right away because it is quite possible that the people in charge of Nigeria’s economic power are robbing the country’s workers and masses.
In a statement issued after its National Executive Council meeting on Sunday, the union advised its members to start a nationwide strike on December 1, 2024, saying, “NLC demands appropriate pricing of petrol and calls for the Public domestic refineries in PH, Warri and Kaduna to quickly come back on stream to break-up the monopolistic stranglehold the big players have on the industry.”NLC argued that Nigerians are being taken advantage of, with many people living in poverty as a result of government policies that increase their suffering and hunger.