Petroleum products marketers have hinted that fuel prices may drop nationwide in the coming days as the parity between imported petrol fell below the Dangote refinery gantry price.

The president of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abubakar Maigandi, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with newsmen on Monday.

His comments followed data from the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria that showed that the average cost of imported petrol stood at N77 per liter cheaper than Dangote Refinery’s gantry fuel at N799 per liter.

Meanwhile, Dangote Refinery, in a statement last week, had asked marketers to boycott coastal petrol, which it claimed is N75 more expensive.

The development signalled a fresh dilemma for petrol marketers.

While the debate around price parity persists, the retail fuel pump price stood at N839 and N905 per liter across filling stations in Abuja.

However, checks by Gong-news showed that some filling stations in Lagos reduced their petrol price to as low as N817 per liter, lower than Dangote Refinery’s backed MRS filling station at N839 per liter.

The move further signaled the likelihood of a possible nationwide spread in the petrol price drop nationwide.

Speaking on the development, Maigandi said that with the current market reality and required enabling environment, retail fuel prices may be slashed nationwide.

He noted that at least 80 percent of its members currently purchase Dangote Refinery petrol.

Maigandi explained that logistics cost is the reason for parity in the country’s petrol price nationwide.

“It depends on the capacity of the product you want to purchase. I said the price differs.

“For those who are buying more than 2 million liters, they have a discount of N20 per liter.

“For those who are buying 5 million liters and above, they have a discount of 25 Naira. They buy at the normal price, 799.

“Presently we need to recommend Dangote for what he did for the country.

“Almost 80 percent of my marketers are buying their product through Dangote directly. That depends on the distance.

“Like in Lagos; they are selling N820 and N825. Here in Abuja they are selling for N875 and N870 per liter.

“Because now if you check, we have only one refinery in the country. So by the time another refinery and import is being brought up, there will be competition and prices will drop. Fuel price will likely come down again,” he told newsmen.

Recall that in January, Dangote Refinery increased its gantry price to N799 per liter from N699, which led to an upward spike in retail petrol price nationwide.

Last year in December, Aliko Dangote, the president of the 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery, had vowed to force fuel prices down to N739 per liter, but that was not the case for the majority of filling stations across Nigeria.

As of Monday evening, crude oil prices traded for $64.36 per barrel and $69.15 per barrel for West Texas Intermediate and Brent Crude, respectively.