The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has denied opposing the recent slash in Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) prices by Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).
A former presidential aide Reno Omokri, in a post on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle on Saturday night, alleged that IPMAN was protesting against the Federal Government due to the affordability of Dangote and NNPCL fuel.
Omokri claimed that rather than Nigerians protesting against high fuel prices, oil marketers were instead resisting the price cut.
He wrote, “For the first time in Nigeria’s history, IPMAN, the Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria, are protesting against the Nigerian government because NNPCL and Dangote Refinery’s fuel is so cheap that their imported fuel is causing them to lose money.
“Instead of Nigerians protesting high prices, marketers are now railing against low costs. From N1050 to N815. Tinubu did it! In just one month, fuel prices have gone down three times.”
However, IPMAN has dismissed Omokri’s claims, insisting that it never opposed the recent fuel price reduction, which resulted from the full deregulation of the downstream sector.
IPMAN’s National Vice President, Hammed Fashola, in a statement made available to PUNCH online on Sunday, maintained that the report referenced by Omokri could not have originated from the association, as independent marketers have long championed the call for full deregulation of the oil and gas sector.
