Major marketers insist petrol price not deregulated

Major marketers have once again insisted that the pump price of premium motor spirit (PMS) otherwise called is not fully deregulated but partially deregulated.

The Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Mr. Femi Olawore, stated this during the commissioning of tanks at Mosinmi Depot in Sagamu, Ogun State.

“It (downstream sector) is not deregulated; they only increased the price but that is not deregulation. You do not deregulate with fixed prices. You allow the prices to float even though we are seeing some measure of floating of the prices with some people selling below N145.

“The truth is that NNPC is currently importing more than anybody because they have easier access to foreign exchange than anybody. So I cannot say for sure when marketers will begin full importation, but our intention is, once the sector is fully deregulated, we will begin,” he said.

The directive by the Federal Government that oil marketers should source for forex needed for the importation of refined petroleum products from either the interbank or parallel markets of the foreign exchange market has resulted into non-importation of products by marketers.

When the federal government announced the new fuel price regime which stated that the product would sell for not more than N145 a litre,

experts warned that allowing marketers to source for forex at parallel market will mount more pressure on the dollar rate.

Exchange rate for dollar was selling at N445/$ as at Tuesday.