Osogbo, July 20, 2023: Petrol Stations in Osogbo, Osun State , on Wednesday adjusted their pump prices to N575 , N580 and N590 respectively, to reflect the new Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) price of N617 announced by NNPC Limited on Tuesday.
Majority of filling stations are selling PMS for N580.
A lot of filling stations on Osogbo-Gbongan Expressway were selling PMS for N580 except for Adolak Filling Station that was selling for N590 and Matrixx Filling Station that sells for N575.
In Ile-Ife, most of the filling stations were under lock while those dispensing fuel were selling PMS for N590.
Simeon’s Oil Nigeria Limited Filling Station, however, sells PMS for N585 while Ife Cooperative Petroleum Investment sells for N600.
Mr Olalekan Azeez, the Manager, SMR Energy, Ile-Ife, said that his station was selling PMS for N520 after subsidy removal, but their new price is now N590.
Azeez said the price would continue to fluctuate as long as subsidy has been removed and Premium Motor Spirit(PMS) is being deregulated.
Mr Waheed Sunday, a commercial motorcyclist in Osogbo, said the sudden increment would seriously affect their operation and income.
“Before now, we hardly make N2,000, after operating from morning to evening, because of the N500 we were buying fuel.
“Now that the price has gone up again, we don’t even know if we will be able to make any money, considering that most people already prefer trekking than paying more for transportation.” he said
Another commercial motorcyclist in Ile-Ife, Mr Sulaiman Adefaye, said the new pump price would make life more unbearable for Nigerians.
“We are complaining of N520, when the subsidy was removed, not quite long, the price jumped between N600 and N650, this is unfair.
“Let President Tinubu consider the masses, because he didn’t tell us life would be more difficult for us during his campaign.” he said
Mr Adejare Adedeji, an economist, said the increment of the pump price would add more economic burden on Nigerians, because the Federal Government is yet to roll out palliatives on subsidy removal.
“The government, aside from removing fuel subsidy, also removed exchange rate regulation, allowing market forces to determine prices.
“In a free economy market, as pertaining to Nigeria, foreign exchange plays a key role on the prices of commodities imported into the country.
“As at today, the Dollar and Pounds are free falling, so, if the NNPCL says pump price is adjusted according to global price (which is in Dollars), it means the higher the Dollar to Naira, the higher the pump price.
“I believe what the government should do is to fix our moribund refineries so we refine our oil locally, so we will not be needing dollars to import petroleum into the country.” he said.
