Oil marketers have called for a downward review in the pump price of the Automotive Gas Oil, popularly called diesel, being produced by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
The marketers want to peg the price between N700 and N850/litre, as operators plan to meet managers of the refinery next week.
The largest downstream marketing association, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, made the call in an interview with our correspondents.
IPMAN said the N1,225/litre diesel price from the indigenous refinery was high because the commodity was produced in Nigeria and not imported.
The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria also called for a reduction in the price of Dangote diesel.
The groups called for the intervention of the Federal Government and urged the managers of the refinery to consider the high cost of logistics required to transport the product from Lagos where the refinery is located.
The oil marketers pointed out that the product is being landed in Nigeria by some importers at N1,250/litre following the appreciation of the naira against the dollar, adding that this should be another reason why the Dangote refinery that produces diesel in Nigeria should cut down its price.
According to the oil marketers, diesel produced at the Dangote refinery has no vessel cost, import charges, and other costs associated with the costs associated with the importation of the commodity into Nigeria.
This came as it was gathered that the marketers under the aegis of IPMAN and Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, and PETROAN held separate meetings on Monday to deliberate on the pricing of petroleum products from the refinery, as well as other issues.