By Isa Isawade
Business and Management expert, Dayo Adetoye, has called for corporations in the oil industry to be put under close scrutiny by the government over the inconsiderate hike in prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as Petrol due to subsidy removal.
Adetoye’s call was a response to a viral audio by a petroleum marketer who revealed that a cabal among the marketers caused a wide gap between the actual landing cost of the product and the current pump price.
Dayo’s intervention came amidst concerns expressed by stakeholders on different platforms a few days ago in Lagos.
There have been accusations and counter-accusations that the new government of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, like its predecessors, was out to unfairly inflict pain on Nigerians through fuel price hikes.
In his opinion, a cartel in the industry was working at cross purposes with the government and that if not checked would constitute an obstacle against the much-desired economic renaissance in the country.
“I have repeatedly argued on this platform that a cartel mindset is at work regarding increases in the price of PMS. I have said that the volatility in forex rates and global crude prices aren’t enough to justify the current hikes in price of PMS.
“I have also said that the costs of importing PMS should be made public for all Nigerians to know. And I have also said citizens have a role to play in addressing anomalies inherent in capitalism by holding businesses to account.
“We shouldn’t be blaming government all the time. The greed of corporations should also come under scrutiny,” Adetoye explained to his audience on the Ikola-Agbenaje Phase 1 CDA’s WhatsApp Platform.
In his response during a debate on another social media platform, Adetoye analysed further that “there is no basis for marketers to raise PMS pump price by as much as 20%. The exchange rate and crude oil price are not responsible for that. This is an arbitrary increase of price that can only happen where you have a cartel mindset.”
According to him, because marketers’ profits have dwindled due to a decrease in demand occasioned by subsidy removal, “the strategy marketers now resort to is to raise PMS price and blame it on exchange rate or crude oil price. That’s unfortunate. This is where I expect the Government to step in to protect consumers.”
He opined that data showing marginal differentials in daily exchange rates and global oil prices as they currently stand would not lead to a hike of as much as 20%.
“Current exchange rate and current global oil prices are not responsible for the new domestic PMS price hike. It is IPMAN that fixed the price for its members to raise their profits amid falling demand, not market forces,” he argued.
He, therefore, wants the government to pay detailed attention to activities of the independent marketers and scrutinize their dealings with the aim to prevent undue exploitation of the already overstressed Nigerians.
It will be recalled that on his assumption of office on May 29, 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced the immediate removal of fuel subsidy in the country, a decision supported by the majority of economists both within and outside the country.
