Queues disappear in Lagos on N145/litre pump price

Subsidy removal yesterday worked like magic in Lagos as long queues disappeared at petrol filling stations.

At filling stations in Ikeja, Mushin and Ikorodu Road, among others, petrol was being sold. Some known for “good metering” had queues of about five to 10 vehicles. Others were empty and motorists drove in and out freely. Some filling stations were not selling because, the attendants said, they have no fuel.

But Commercial buses and taxis have increased their fares. For instance, buses that ply Eko Hotel to Ojuelegba collect N250 as against N150. Ojuelegba to Ikeja is now N250 as against N150. Mowe/Ibafo to Oshodi, which was N200, has gone up to N250. Egbeda to Oshodi, which was N150 is now N250. Dopemu to Yaba is N300 as against N150.

Although the removal of subsidy was praised by many Nigerians, particularly those in the manufacturing and operators of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as they need not labour to access fuel, there are concerns that with the state of the naira, some marketers may still sell above N145 per litre as they will source their foreign exchange (forex) from the secondary market, meet their logistics requirements and tackle other issues.

When NNPC was importing and giving the marketers at subsidised price with some margin for using their (marketers) retail outlets and a little profit, some of them sold at N130 per litre. Now that the government has fixed the price at N145 per litre, marketers may not stick to the government’s margin.