It was gathered that most private depot owners recently raised the cost of petrol from the approved N142-N145/litre price to between N162-N170/litre.
This, oil marketers said, had already made some filling stations owned by independent marketers to start dispensing petrol at N180/litre, above the approved and regulated pump price of N165/litre.
But the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Nigeria’s sole importer of petrol, said it was not aware of the hike in price by private depot owners.
Also, the regulator of the sector, Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority demanded independent marketers to make a formal complaint, while the oil dealers argued that they had already informed the agency.
The National Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chief Ukadike Chinedu, told our correspondent that although the number of filling stations in Lagos and Abuja that sold petrol above the regulated rate were few, many outlets in other states currently dispense the product at N170-N180/litre.
He said, “Petrol is being sold in private tank farms (depots) at N167 to N170/litre. In fact, a friend contacted me to say that some tank farm owners were selling at N180/litre in Port Harcourt.
