Fatimah Otunsanya
Nigerians have been exposed to more hardship as oil marketers yesterday increased the price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol to N1,300 per litre from N1,050 per litre.
This indicates an increase of 24 per cent, following the consistent rise in crude oil prices to $110 per barrel in the international market, amid the Middle East crisis.
Also, the pump price of Automotive Gas Oil, also known as diesel, increased to N1,380 per litre from N1, 100 per litre at MRS outlets, while the NNPC Limited outlets sold it at N1,680 per litre in Lagos and environs.
The price of petrol rose sharply to between N1,200 and N1,300 per litre in Ibadan and neighbouring communities in Oyo State.
Prior to the latest increase, the product was sold at between N1,020 and N1,080 per litre.
A member of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, who spoke on condition of anonymity, attributed the increase to the rising landing cost of the product.
According to the marketer, the cost of lifting fuel from the Lagos depot has climbed to N1,175 per litre.
“The pump price varies, depending on the destination. While the pump price in Ibadan hovers around N1,200 and N1,300 per litre, the same cannot be said of places like Ogbomoso and Oke-Ogun areas,’’ he said.
Similarly, in Abuja, petrol price rose dramatically at retail outlets from N880 per litre seven days ago to over N1,300, following the decision of Dangote Petroleum Refinery to increase the gantry price of petrol and diesel to N1,175 per litre from N995 per litre, and N1,620 per litre from N1,430 per litre, respectively.
In a notice to oil marketers, the refinery attributed the development to the prolonged instability in the global oil markets, resulting in the price of crude oil rising to $110 per barrel yesterday from $102 per barrel.
The price from the refinery has seen four different increases by filling stations in Abuja in the past one week.
On Monday last week when it sold at N880 per litre, the price rose to N960 and N1,080 by the past weekend, and jumped to N1,103 earlier yesterday.
The new price expectedly has led to increases in transportation costs, with fares rising by over 100 per cent on some routes.
