Major oil marketers hail FG on Pump Price Reduction; Vows to comply fully

Notwithstanding the clamp-down on some filling stations over alleged refusal to immediately revert their pump price to N87 per litre as against N97 previously, the major oil marketers Association of Nigeria has commended the federal government for the initiative on pump price reduction and vowed its members will continue to support government particularly in areas where it benefits the citizens of the nation.

Mr Femi OLAWORE, Executive Secretary, MOMAN

“We commend the Federal Government initiative to ameliorate economic hardship on generality of Nigerians by taking the bold step of reducing pump price,” said the Executive Secretary MOMAN, mr. Femi Olawore.

According to a statement released early on Tuesday, after meeting with PPPRA and executives of Oil Marketing companies in Lagos, Olawore said “Major marketers in the country are committed to continue to support government particularly in areas where it benefits the citizens of the nation.

It will be recalled that the federal government had weekend announced a sudden and an impromptu reduction in fuel pump price to N87 as against the N97 previously.

However, stakeholders in the sector were caught unawares, and due to lack of details on directives and the logistics challenge of effecting changes across the country were unable to immediately comply. This prompted the Weights And Measures Department of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to move against some filling stations by clamping down on them Tuesday.

Olawore who revealed that marketers have started complying with the new directive, however said it will be pretty difficult to guarantee instant and hundred percent compliance with over 30,000 stations nationwide with an average of 6 pumps per station, giving the marketers a total of 180,000 pumps to be adjusted.

Specifically, the oil marketing chieftain said, “pump technicians have to traverse the length and breadth of the country at short notice to make changes.

He also hinted that some of the service providers (pump technicians) who are accredited are shared by some major marketers, hinting that major marketers as part of its processes will only use accredited technicians to guard against manipulations and sharp practices and at the same time protecting the value the consuming public should benefit from.

Stating that marketers have been co-operating with regulatory agencies while also dispatching their own monitoring team to ensure compliance, Olawore said all stakeholders ought to have been carried along before government made its pronouncement on pump price reduction for better planning and execution.

He said major marketers in Nigeria will continue to work with government to anticipate product price changes in future such that logistics can be planned and deployed for quick implementation.

While acknowledging that marketers will suffer some losses, he said his members are primarily concerned with ensuring completion of price changes nationwide so that Nigerians will benefit and thereafter engage with government.