The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission is putting fuel marketers and depot operators on notice, warning that it will sanction those found to be exploiting consumers after a sharp global drop in crude oil prices failed to translate into meaningful relief at the pump.
Nigeria’s consumer protection agency said Sunday it had been monitoring the downstream petroleum market and found that price reductions by local refiners, marketers and retail outlet operators were “token” at best, far out of step with a steep decline in international crude benchmarks that has now returned oil to where it was in February.
Crude prices have collapsed from a peak of $120 per barrel in April to $73 following a ceasefire accord between the United States and Iran two weeks ago and the subsequent reopening of the Straits of Hormuz, a fall of nearly 40 percent in roughly two months.
Yet Nigerian motorists are still paying an average of N1,200 per litre for petrol, a far cry from the N800 to N900 range that prevailed in February when global prices were at comparable levels.
“We are concerned that while dealers often respond swiftly by hiking pump prices whenever crude prices rise, it is curious that it is taking forever for consumers to benefit significantly when crude prices fall,” Tunji Bello, FCCPC executive vice chairman and chief executive officer, said in the statement. “Competitive markets must work fairly in both directions.”
