Low Patronage At Nigeria’s Filling Stations – Petrol Marketers

Following the increase in fuel prices and economy hardship, the petrol marketers on Monday lamented low patronage at their retail outlet.

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) spokesman, Ukadike Chinedu said filling stations nationwide have become ghost places as middle-class Nigerians have abandoned their vehicles and embraced public transportation.

The National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, also lamented that marketers, retail outlet owners, are finding it difficult to cope with the current situation.

“We used to buy 45,000 litres of fuel a couple of months ago for less than 8.5 million naira but today, we have to cough out about 49 million naira to buy the product.

“Financial institutions are not coming to our rescue. The cost of money is so high, it is so difficult to even sell, what we get to our retail outlets is not quickly bought because Nigerians also have the challenge with their buying power.” Gillis- Harry noted.

IPMAN spokeperson also said that,” the volume of trade in the filling stations is very low because of the characteristics of the buyers who have now dropped some of their luxury vehicles with V8 and are now using alternative transportation.

“If you check some of the filling stations these days, you will find out that there is skeletal or ghost buying, two, or three cars will just come in and buy. We are no longer talking about scarcity, we are now talking about price differentials.”

The two unions urged President Bola Tinubu to provide ₦100bn as a seed fund for oil marketers to stay afloat, just like the aviation and agricultural sectors.