ARBITRARY fuel prices by marketers continued yesterday in several parts of the country with a litre of the product selling for N250 in Zamfara State.
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Authority (PPPRA) on Sunday formally deregulated the downstream sector.
A statement by the Executive Secretary of the agency, Reginald Stanley, said: "Service providers in the sector are now to procure products and sell same in accordance with the indicative benchmark price to be published forthnightly and posted on the PPPRA website. Petroleum products marketers are to note that no one will be paid subsidy on PMS discharges after 1st January, 2012".
Marketers, still using their old stock, have capitalised on the announcement to make "fast money".
In Gusau, the Zamfara State capital, a litre was sold for N250 "and several motorists struggled to get the product because work will resume tomorrow (today) and transporters need the fuel to make fast money from passengers".
A manager in one of the filling stations, who pleaded anonymity, said: "Nobody, not even the government, can dictate to us how much we are going to sell fuel. The sector has been deregulated and you sell at the rate you buy with some profits. We are in business to make money and Nigerians should understand that. If you want to make money in this sector, be a marketer. Nigerians should know that we are helping them because if we don't import fuel, there will be crisis as nobody will be able to move".
In Kano, the price of the product was hiked by over 100 per cent, as all filling stations automatically adjusted their pump prices to reflect the new increase.
Many of the independent marketers sold fuel for N160 per litre but the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Mega Station sold for N138 while others like Total, Agip, Oando and Mobil, among others, sold for N141.
At the parallel market, which is already recording brisk business, the product was sold for N200 per litre.
Nigeriancompass