Reasons price of petrol will continue to increase in Nigeria: PETROAN

*We know because of certain exigencies happening in the market, prices of petroleum product will continue to increase, says Dr. Billis Gillis-Harry, President of Petroleum Product Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

While stating the group’s capacity to effectively manage oil refineries in the country, the Petroleum Product Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has insisted that petrol price will continue to increase until there are functional refineries in the country.

Dr. Billis Gillis-Harry, President of PETROAN, who disclosed this to reporters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, maintained that the association has the capacity to manage the refineries, given its vast establishments across the West African country.

The PETROAN President said: “The cost of fixing the refineries today from what we are told is running into about $1.8 billion or thereabouts. Revamping the four refineries will cost Nigeria too much money.

“PETROAN can come together and partner with the federal government in ensuring that we have established modular refineries that can do at least up to fifteen thousand barrels per day. That should be able to guarantee our domestic consumption per day.” According to him, Nigerians will start buying petrol at N200 per litre, given the monthly increase of depot price of the product and called on federal government to be sincere in its deregulation of the petroleum sector.

ConsumerConnect checks at a number of filling stations Tuesday, in Lagos, also revealed that petrol price per liter ranges from N174 and N176 respectively.

Gillis-Harry stated: “As far as pricing of petroleum product is concerned, we know that because of certain exigencies that are happening in the market, prices of petroleum product will continue to increase.

“There is no doubt about that. Let the government start to work together on how to bring in economic dynamics that should be able to cushion such shock in the system.”

Nonetheless, PETROAN Chief noted the association would support the government to ensure that subsidy is no longer the order of the day.