The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), are calling on the federal government to offset their losses for products procured at the old price, while signaling their support of the new pump price of N125 from N145per litre.
In a press statement in Lagos, the Chairman of the Lagos State chapter of IPMAN, Barrister Akin Akinrinade, said the decision by the government was the right thing to do, in view of the sudden fall of over 50 per cent in the price of oil in the world market.
But Barrister Akinrinade wants the Federal government to compensate all oil marketers that loaded fuel between Monday and Wednesday last week, because they would be losing minimum of N20 per liter on the fuel they have loaded, depending on the distance or destination.
According to Akinrinade, the difference between the old price of N145 and new price of N125 per liter for a marketer that loaded 33,000 litres of fuel, the shortage will be N660,000 and for a marketer who loaded 45,000 litres, the loss for that marketer will be N900,000 for that single transaction.
The new government price of fuel took effect throughout the country last Thursday.
The IPMAN chairman said if the marketers who loaded their trucks between Monday and Wednesday last week were not refunded, they might run out of business because of huge financial losses they would have incurred.
The sudden fall in the price of oil in the world market was as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, which has led to restrictions of local and international travels, dampening demand for fuel.