Expect gains of fuel price hike in one month – IPMAN

 Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), yesterday, disclosed that the country would start reaping the benefits of the new pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol, in less than one month, which might include a reduction in the price of the commodity. Addressing newsmen in Abuja, President of IPMAN, Mr. Obasi Lawson, also called on Nigerians to ignore those calling for strike action against the hike in the price, stating that the new pump price will liberalize the oil and gas industry and also engender competition which will likely force price reduction of the product. He called for patience, stating that the new policy would be beneficial to all at the end, stressing that tight as the new pump price may seem, IPMAN was looking forward to a gradual price decrease that will accommodate all stakeholders in the near future. He, however, called on the Federal Government to release the proposed palliatives as quickly as possible to cushion the effects of the hike. According to him, initially, the implementation of the policy would cause some form of pains, but in less than one month, Nigerians will start reaping the benefits of the new policy. Lawson explained that over 7,000 tickets of PMS cargoes worth more than N20 billion, some of which were as old as one year, were tied up in the NNPC system, while he expressed optimism that with the new policy in place, the pending cargoes would b e easily released. He emphasized that it is pertinent that the market be opened up for other stakeholders, due to the fact that the NNPC cannot meet up with petrol supply requirements in the country. He said, “The new policy of the Federal Government that effected the change in price of PMS is a welcome development. We members of IPMAN welcome the policy because it is going to bring about total liberalisation and also engender competition in the industry. “We have also put arrangement in place to import petroleum products so that we can serve our members. The policy is a good development so the issue of strike should be ignored. In fact, we are calling on all our members to go about their normal businesses and keep their petrol stations open.”