According to the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu’s elimination of the fuel subsidy means that its members cannot afford to buy 45,000 liters of gasoline.
In a conversation with The PUNCH, Surajudeen Bada, a National Ex-officio of IPMAN and the previous Chairman of the organization in Ogun State, revealed that oil marketers presently provide funds to purchase 45,000 liters of gasoline, which they then divide among themselves.
He blamed the loss of the gasoline subsidy for individual marketers’ incapacity to buy a truckload of fuel.
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He clarified that the price of a 45,000-liter gasoline tanker used to be less than N9 million before to May 29, 2023.
Recall that at this inaugural speech on May 29, 2023, President Bola Tinubu declared the end of the gasoline subsidy program.
As a result, gasoline pump prices skyrocketed from roughly N180 per litre to N537 per litre before reaching N617 per litre on July 17.
Bada claims that many of the marketers could not afford the current N27 million price tag for a 45,000-liter tanker of gasoline, which was formerly sold for N9 million.
The chairman of Ogun State’s Oil and Gas Traders Association, Bada, insisted that government policies were hurting the industry.
Government policies are having a detrimental effect on us. Before this administration started in May 2023, a 45,000-liter truck of gasoline was being purchased from the depot for more than N8 million, not up to N9 million. Yet, the same amount is being purchased now for more than N27 million. The differences are visible. Thus, a large number of our merchants are now out of business because they lack the N27 million in working capital.
We now distribute the merchandise among ourselves. A truck is normally assigned to a gas station, however these days we visit roughly three stations with a fully loaded truck. We share between ourselves so that word gets out that we’re in business and the stuff is available in town, if nothing else.
We give money to purchase a single vehicle since an individual with N9 million who previously operated a business is no longer able to purchase half of a truck with that sum. Thus, two or three people now collaborate to carry out that task.