Alhaji Dele Tajudeen, the Chairman of IPMAN Southwest Zone, refuted the alleged plan of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) to raise the pump price of petrol (Premium Motor Spirit - PMS) to N700 per litre nationwide.

Tajudeen emphasized that the current price of the product would remain unchanged, and he urged Nigerians to disregard the speculation and avoid panic buying.

He expressed his appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for the removal of petrol subsidy, emphasizing that it was a long overdue action.

He mentioned that even the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) bill explicitly stated the necessity of subsidy removal. Furthermore, he commended the president for this move, stating full support.

According to him, the slight increase in the pump price was due to transportation costs, but he assured Nigerians that the commodity would remain affordable for the general population.

According to Tajudeen, when comparing the prices offered by NNPC Retail Limited, which is an integral part of NNPC Limited, they have certain advantages over independent and major marketers.

He clarified that the retail price announced by NNPC was not specific to independent marketers. He dismissed the speculation mentioned in a newspaper article, assuring the public that it was not based on reality. He emphasized that there was no possibility of the price reaching N700 per litre at the moment. Even if the foreign exchange rate (FX) were to be N700 or N800, it would not cause the price of petroleum to rise from N500 to N700.

According to Tajudeen, the current highest price for petrol should be around N550 per litre, with Lagos at N510 per litre and Ogun State ranging from N500 to N520.

In the meantime, a coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) has declared their intention to oppose any purported increase in the pump price of petrol. They expressed their stance in a statement jointly signed by Dr Basil Musa, the Convener, and Malam Haruna Maigida, the Co-Convener, on behalf of others.

Their plan involves picketing IPMAN members' filling stations across the country. The CSOs accused IPMAN of operating as a parallel government and causing hardship to ordinary Nigerians through their unilateral adjustment of petroleum prices.