The Factional Chair
man of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) in Kwara State, Alhaji Olanrewaju Okanlawon, has attributed the recurring hike in the price of kerosene to the unstable foreign exchange occasioned by the lingering economic recession.
Okanlawon who revealed this in Ilorin last Saturday said that the association should not be blamed for the series of complaints emanating from members of the public, particularly from domestic users of the product.
He explained that the association was not in any deliberate move to inflict hardship on the masses whom he noted, were already facing hardship due to the economic recession.
He noted that it would be unfair to compound the economic situation of the people by needlessly jacking up the price of kerosene in an attempt to make additional profit.
According to the IPMAN factional boos, the domestic cooking commodity is being imported and the situation will persist unless government encourages the right measures to stablise the nation’s economy.
“It is necessary of the government to effect surgical operation on the country’s monetary policy to reduce over-dependence on dollars.
“It remained the determinant factor in the foreign exchange policy of the Federal Government”, he said.
He, however, noted that the effect of the foreign exchange was not peculiar to the Petroleum sector, saying it had become pervasive in every sector of the economy and stressed the need for the government to devise a timely action to stem the tide.
“The major factor that is bringing everything up is the dollar, because most of these products are imported.
“As long as kerosene is sourced with dollars, definitely the price will go up.”
“If you are talking about high cost of kerosene and cooking gas, what do you have to say about aviation fuel that has also risen”, he said.