Rivers Marketers Sell Above N65 Pump Price

In total flagrance to the warning by the Port Harcourt zone of the Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR), a subsidiary of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), to marketers not to increase price of petroleum products, some marketers in Rivers State made undue advantage of the Christmas season to increase their pump prices.

Our reporter who went round to check the sales of the petroleum products in the state said some marketers sold above the official N65.00 per litre.

 The marketers who operate mostly at the outskirt of Port Harcourt sold between N70.00 and N75.00 per liter.

One of the marketers who responded to the reporter’s questions said he had to do that because almost every other sellers were not observing the regulated price.

“When others sell above N65.00 per litre and buyers are not complaining, I too had to increase my price, he said.

Another marketer in Etche who was unwilling to reply to The Tide question simply remarked that “during Christimas season as this, all businessmen irrespective of what you sell, normally increase prices.”

Another marketer in Emohua Local Government Area accepted that they were warned not to sell above N65.00 but since buyers were willing to by at high prices and other marketers are also increasing theirs, I too had to do same since we are in the same business.

A taxi driver Mr Clement Gagariga blamed DPR for the situation saying, “a situation where the government people stay in their offices and issue warnings without matching them with actions cannot help the situation”.

He advised DPR to go beyond warning but monitor the sales as that is the only way the marketers would take the directorate seriously,

“What should I do? I cannot pack my vehicle but has to buy it since I cannot go to Port Harcourt where they sell at the normal price to buy,” he added.