As MRS Filling Station announced a petrol pump price cut on Monday in collaboration with Dangote Refinery, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited considers a new premium motor spirit price reduction.
In a separate, exclusive interview with newsmen, Chinedu Ukadike, the spokesperson for the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, and Billy Gillis-Harry, the National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association, explained this.
This comes after MRS Filling Station announced a fuel price cut Monday, the first such cut since 2025.
The oil company reported that its pump price had decreased to N925 per litre in Lagos, South West (N933), North (N945), and South-East (N955) on Monday in its official X account. The company used to sell it for about N970 per liter, but now the price has dropped.
Weeks have passed since Dangote Refinery stated on February 1, 2025, that the ex-depot price would drop from N970 per litre to N870.
In response, Gillis-Harry and Ukadike expressed hope that NNPCL will declare a PMS price cut in the days ahead in order to stay competitive in the downstream industry of the nation.
Because it is impossible to view a product at a lower price and still choose NNPCL, Gillis-Harry stated that “NNPC has no choice but to reduce petrol retail prices.”
In a similar vein, Ukadike clarified that NNPCL is unable to do anything other than lower prices because of the ongoing pricing battle between the two companies.
“It is likely that NNPCL will drop its price because there is a price war with Dangote Refinery. Once Dangote Refinery announces a price drop, NNPC will follow suit,” he said.
Why petrol price reductions by Dangote and NNPCL is not impacting transportation costs, others
Gillis-Harry pointed out that the cost of transportation and food prices have not changed, even though MRS filling stations just lowered the price of gasoline.
He claims that the main reason why the drop in fuel prices is not having an effect on food prices and transportation expenses is because Nigerians have a low purchasing power.
“If you watch, the cost of transportation has not reduced in spite of the reduction of fuel at the retail market. That tells you that the purchasing power of Nigerians is very weak.
“In my opinion, we need to engage Nigerians in production activities such as farming, fishing, and technology.
“Go to the park, you will see that the price of transportation cost has not been impacted by the fuel reduction,” he stated.
But according to Ukadike, the long-term effects of the gas price cut will be felt in the areas of products, services, and transportation.
“The impact will be gradual; it will eventually impact transportation and others,” he noted.
Concerns over frequent petrol price adjustments
Gillis-Harry scowled at the regular changes in gas prices made by those involved in the oil and gas industry.
He pointed out that the security of gasoline will be impacted by constant price changes.
He went on to say that marketers who may increase their fuel stock before fresh stock arrives suffer significant losses as a result of capricious increases in the price of gasoline.
“There was a lot of fuel that was purchased at the old price that is still in the system, and they have not been sold.
“Marketers cannot sell below the cost price. It is completely impossible for someone to buy a product at N970 per litre and sell below the purchase price.
“MRS that is trying to deepen the distribution process with PETROAN and Dangote Refinery still has the same challenge of the buying power,” he told newsmen.
According to reports, Dangote Refinery cut the ex-depot price of gasoline from N899.50 per liter to N970 in December.
Additionally, NNPCL reported a decrease in PMS prices for petroleum markets.
In the final lap of 2024, the price competition between NNPCL and Dangote drove down petroleum costs.
