Lagos residents complain as price of kerosene hits N150 per litre

Lagos – Some residents in Lagos have
called on government to set up a task
force to enforce the official N50 per litre
pump price of kerosene.
The resident said in separate interviews
in Lagos on Friday many dealers were
selling kerosene as high as N150 per litre.
Mr Felix Balogun, an official of First Bank,
said  that many marketers were not
selling kerosene at the official price of
N50 and this had made cooking difficult in
some homes.
Balogun urged the regulatory agencies to
sanction marketers selling above the
official pump price.
He also urged the Federal Government to
find a lasting solution to the persistent
high cost of the product.
“The high price of kerosene is exposing
many Nigerians to difficulties and causing
a drain in their pockets.
“Most families have been forced to use
firewood in spite of its cumbersome
process,’’ Balogun said.
Mrs Deborah Yakubu, a kerosene retailer
in Onipanu area of Lagos, blamed the high
cost of the commodity on both major and
independent marketers.
“They sold a litre of kerosene to me at
N105 per litre with other charges; how
much did they expect me to sell it to
make my gain.
“Government should set up an
independent task force to sanction any
erring marketer,’’ she said.
Alhaja Modinat Ojora, a food seller in
Maryland, said that the situation was
pathetic and urged the Federal
Government to find a way of addressing
the problem.
Mr Bamidele Ogunshakin, the Managing
Director of Ollymore Oil and Gas Ltd.,
said that the station was allocated 10,000
litres to sell at N50 per litre and all had
been exhausted.
Ogunshakin said that marketers, who
were selling above the official pump price,
were sourcing the product on their own
at the rate of N98 per litre, excluding
other charges.
“Marketers should not be blamed for the
hike in the price of kerosene.
Government should live up to
expectations by supplying the commodity
at the official pump price of N49.50.
“We are businessmen. We cannot keep
our storage facilities empty without the
product.
“We have to source for the product at any
price to keep the company running so
that we will be able to pay for utilities and
other expenses,’’ he said.
In spite of the launch of the campaign on
“sale of kerosene at N50 per litre”
nationwide, some filling stations in Lagos
are still selling it above the pump price of
N50 per litre.
Consumers often spend hours on queues
at filling stations to buy the product at
the official pump price.
A litre of kerosene costs between N160
and N170 outside the filling stations.
(NAN)