Petrol marketers have revealed the consequences following the dwindling sales and revenue at retail outlets nationwide.

The National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, and Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) spokesman Ukadike Chinedu made the revelation on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.

Recall that the price of petrol has skyrocketed above ₦1,000 per litre, resulting in low patronage at filling stations. The price of fuel have increased from less than ₦200 to more than ₦1,000 since President Bola Tinubu announced an end to petrol subsidy. The Nigerian leader announced this after assuming office in May 2023.

Reacting, marketers said they are struggling to cope with high price of the commodity and low returns, while financial institutions hesitate to provide loans due to high interest rates.

According to Ukadike Chinedu, filling stations have become “ghost places” as middle-class Nigerians abandon their vehicles and opt for public transportation.

“Most of the money we use in investing is bank money. It’s being borrowed and the interest rate is also high. There is no return on investment because the more we sell, the more we make profits,” Chinedu said.

“Now the volume of trade in the filling stations is very low because of the characteristics of the buyers who have now dropped some of their luxury vehicles with V8 and are now using alternative transportation.

“If you check some of the filling stations these days, you will find out that there is skeletal or ghost buying, two, or three cars will just come in and buy. We are no longer talking about scarcity, we are now talking about price differentials.”

Meanwhile, Billy Gillis-Harry said that marketers are finding it difficult to cope with the current situation.

“Marketers, retail outlet owners, all of us in the industry are finding it difficult to cope with the current situation, we used to buy 45,000 litres of fuel a couple of months ago for less than 8.5 million naira but today, we have to cough out about 49 million naira to buy the product.

“Financial institutions are not coming to our rescue. The cost of money is so high, it is so difficult to even sell, what we get to our retail outlets is not quickly bought because Nigerians also have the challenge with their buying power.”

The two unions urged President Bola Tinubu to provide ₦100 billion as a seed fund for oil marketers to stay afloat, citing similar to support for the aviation and agricultural sectors.