The fuel shortage arose because marketers rejected the government’s demand to reduce prices

Nigerians may again experience shortages of fuel products as independent fuel marketers reject the Federal Government’s demand that they reduce fuel prices.

Marketers have threatened to close fuel stations across the country if the government implements price controls in the country’s deregulated fuel market.

This was a reaction to comments by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, who stated that government agencies would not tolerate profit taking from operators despite liberalization of fuel prices.

Speaking, the National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Ukadike, said any attempt to implement price controls would violate the principle of deregulation and force marketers to cease operations across the country.

“If the government tries to implement price controls, we will close our petrol stations nationwide.

“You cannot run a deregulated market and at the same time determine the prices that marketers should charge to sell their products without considering the cost of purchase,” Ukadike told reporters.

He emphasized that marketers are not exploiting Nigerians but are instead grappling with ever-increasing financial losses due to frequent downward depot price adjustments, especially by the Dangote Refinery.

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According to him, many marketers buy products at higher prices through bank financing, but prices at the depot drop before the existing stock runs out.

He argued that the situation exposed them to significant losses.

Ukadike said the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) provides for a market-based pricing system.

He warned that government interference would hinder investment and weaken confidence in the downstream sector.

Rather than fixing prices, he urged the Federal Government to strengthen competition by supporting local refiners, reviving state-owned refineries and creating an enabling environment for more importers and refiners to operate.

The National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, took a more conciliatory position.

He said that the minister has the authority to intervene in the interests of consumers, but must involve stakeholders first.

He called for an emergency meeting involving the Federal Government, regulators, refiners and marketers to resolve the price dispute through dialogue.

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has also joined the debate.

The Commission recently questioned why the decline in global crude oil prices did not translate into a significant reduction in fuel prices, and noted that there had been little adjustment recorded across the supply chain.

Petrol is currently being sold at between ₦1,140 and ₦1,210 per liter in different regions of the country, with prices varying.