The pump price of diesel has hit a record high of N800 per litre as businesses in Nigeria continue to suffer harsh economic repercussions of the sudden spike.
Findings from a survey conducted by Peoples Gazette on Monday evening showed that, while most stations now charged between N600 and N700 per litre, some filling stations sold at N800 per litre.
“We sold at N810 this evening to some of our customers in Abuja,” a private diesel supplier told The Gazette. “Official rate is N600 but marketers have started hoarding the products because they won’t be able to stock again at the same rate.”
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The Gazette also learnt that filling stations, including Amash in Nasarawa, was selling diesel at N800 per litre.
Further checks with filling stations in Lagos showed that retailers were selling between N640 and N700 per litre.
While Eso filling station in Ogijo, Ikorodu, sold at N700 per litre on Monday, Rain Oil situated around Ojodu Berger axis of Lagos followed closely with a pump price of N650 per litre, with Bovas and Yerevan selling at N640 per litre.
However, Eterna, Oando, Amuf oil and NNPC were not selling diesel as of the time the survey was conducted.
An attendant at Amuf Oil told The Gazette that the station was currently out of stock, but disclosed that the outlet sold diesel for N650 per litre before running out of stock.
“Before our diesel finished we sold at N650 per litre. I cannot guarantee the rate at which we will sell when our tanker arrives, but it will most likely be above N650,” she pointed out.
Meanwhile, social media users have reported buying diesel between N700 and N800 per litre on Monday.
Some marketers have avoided displaying the pump price at their outlets to avoid being sanctioned by federal regulators.
Mostly used by big businesses in the amid erratic power supply, sometimes caused by the frequent collapse of the national grid, the price of diesel, largely unregulated, has surged by over 160 per cent in the last 14 months, raising concerns about the survival of companies in the manufacturing sector that heavily rely on diesel for their operations.
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), on Sunday, asked President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime to support the production of goods as diesel price hit N720 per litre.
Lanre Popoola, MAN’s chairman for Oyo, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo branches, lamented that rising diesel price had affected production, noting that 70 per cent of industries use the fuel.
The chairman added that, if the situation persisted, it could worsen an ready bad situation as Nigerians and businesses groan amid economic and security crises.