Following the chairman of Forte Oil, Femi Otedola’s decision to sell House Hold Kerosene (HHK) which he nicknamed “Buhari Kerosene” at N50 per litre, tank farm operators at Apapa port might be counting their losses already as sale of kerosene at their depots have dropped sharply.
Following the chairman of Forte Oil, Femi Otedola’s decision to sell House Hold Kerosene (HHK) which he nicknamed “Buhari Kerosene” at N50 per litre, tank farm operators at Apapa port might be counting their losses already as sale of kerosene at their depots have dropped sharply.
This is even as the Lagos State Depot Coordinator of the kerosene dealers under the aegis of Sovereign Tanks Kerosene Dealers Association and Dealers (SUTAKEP); Comrade Joseph Oluwole Ojo has urged the rivals of the billionaire oil magnate to follow suit and emulate Otedola’s conscious attempt to make life more bearable for the average man on the streets.
He gave this advice in a chat with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos last week.
Findings by our correspondent at the tank farms revealed that marketers that had kerosene in stuck could not sell it because customers have embraced the N50 per litre of kerosene sold by Forte Oil.
A marketer, Mr. Olanife Adeoye in a chat with our correspondent confirmed that the depot from which he operates, Ibeto tank farm, had kerosene in stuck but that nobody was coming forward to buy it. It was gathered that the same situation was obtainable at NIPCO Depot, Folawiyo and other places visited by our correspondent
Olanife also confirmed that the NUPENG has equally been forced to bring down their levies and charges at the entrance of tank farms from N25,000 to N10,500 in line with President Muhamadu Buhari’s directive that all associated cost to clearing of petroleum products must be brought down.
“For the people that have the products at the depot now, for the past one week we cannot sell it, the ghost of Buhari is hunting everybody even though he has not said anything, it is haunting them at DPR and NNPC, the money they were collecting before they could not collect it again”
“All the cost pertaining to fuel sale must be brought down, this is the instruction that Buhari has given to them at the National Assembly which the leaders of NUPENG have passed down to us, we were collecting about N25,000 at the gate, but this has been forced to come down to N10,500 so that all the cost of petroleum product can come down and the masses can get it at a cheaper price at the filling stations, including kerosene so that they can get it at N50”
Olanife equally said that the price of diesel has dropped from N140 to about N87.00 at the tank farms. According to him, government has not deregulated petrol and kerosene, hence the price of kerosene was still supposed to be at N50.
On his part, Comrade Joseph Oluwole Ojo observed that the price of kerosene is normally below N50 from NNPC and DPR, he added that by the time it is sold to marketers and the filling stations, the price goes up to N120.
“The Federal Government is not selling it more than N50, it is supposed to be sold at N60” he said
He urged all depots representing NNPC including Capital Oil, NIPCO among others, to sell kerosene at N50 per litre.
According to him, the gesture of Chief Femi Otedola to sell kerosene at N50 per litre cannot yet be felt by the consumers at the grass root.
“If the product can be in full circulation, then it would be better and we will be satisfied, kerosene is a domestic product that is mostly used by the poor people in the rural areas, the question now is; does the product now get to them at N50?”
He said that if other tank farms refused to follow suit, demand of the product will be higher than the supply and this will lead to inflation. He confirmed to Shipping Position Daily that the price of kerosene has not been officially deregulated by the Federal Government.
“If government has deregulated, there would not be panic, people will be selling their kerosene as they like, it means that there is no deregulation of kerosene yet” Comrade Ojo stated.
It would be recalled that Otedola had ordered that all his filling station outlets across the country should henceforth sell HHK at N50/litre in furtherance of his decision to identify with President Muhammadu Buhari's bid to ameliorate the hardships faced by millions of Nigerians daily.
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