IPMAN Reveals Plans To Force Down Fuel Price

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) says it has the numerical strength to force down the price of Premium Motor Spirit popularly known as petrol. This comes after the recent increase in fuel prices following the removal of subsidies by the Federal Government.

This was made known by the National President of IPMAN, Chinedu Okoronkwo during a news conference in Abuja.

Okoronkwo disclosed that members of his association support the subsidy removal announced by President Bola Tinubu. He further expressed optimism that the unbundling of the downstream sector has opened doors for more investors to come in. He also said, “Our association has the numerical strength to force down the price of fuel once they start independent importation of the product.’’

IPMAN considers CNG as alternative

The IPMAN president said, “We have also discovered that bringing an alternative that is cheaper than even firewood which is Compressed Natural Gas, CNG will not only create relief for the government and its citizens but is environmentally friendly.

According to him, CNG is more abundantly available in Nigeria than anywhere in Africa. He said, “In the Niger Delta region you see billions of tonnes of gas flare being wasted daily, these are huge amounts that should be accruing to our GDP but we are wasting it because there is no market for it.

Okoronkwo who asked the government to create the market said, “How do you create the market? What Egypt and India did was to give soft loans to be paid back within stipulated periods from there you can get vehicles to use gas instead of fuel.’’

Recall that President Bola Tinubu’s declaration “subsidy is gone” led to a spike in the pump price of petrol as the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, who has been the sole importer of the product, announced an increase in the product to over N500 per litre as against the earlier N184 per litre.