Petroleum marketers have raised concerns following the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPCL) reduction in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol).

The NNPC on Easter Monday instructed its filling stations in Lagos to adjust the pump price to N880 per litre from the previous price of N910.

While in Abuja petrol price dropped from N950 per litre to N935.

The move by NNPC comes shortly after the Dangote refinery lowered its ex-depot price from N865 to N835 per litre, prompting adjustments in retail prices by its partners such as MRS, Heyden, Optima Energy, TechnOil and Ardova.

These companies were directed to sell petrol at N890 in Lagos, N900 in the South West, N910 in the South-South, and N920 in the North East, slightly higher than NNPC's new rates.

Based on NNPC's new Lagos price, petrol will be N10 cheaper than at Dangote's partners stations.

The Punch reports that marketers are concerned the new petrol price will expose them to significant financial losses, as many filling stations have yet to sell their old stocks. Hammed Fashola, the National Vice President of the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria, who confirmed NNPC's price adjustment, expressed concerns about the financial impact on marketers.

He said: "The price reduction is a welcome development for consumers, but it severely affects marketers who are now incurring significant losses.

"We are doing our best to manage our losses by selling off old stock at reduced rates. However, the current situation is economically challenging for us."

When asked about future price projections, Fashola declined to speculate, citing volatile factors such as crude oil prices and exchange rates as crucial determinants.

He added: "Predicting further price drops like N800 or N700 per litre is uncertain due to global economic factors affecting oil prices and our national economy."

The Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, believes that the price war between Dangote Refinery and NNPCL will benefit the consumer more.

He said: "In a price war, nobody wins; the consumers win in the short run, and then eventually, the market goes back to where it should be. But, at the end of the day, between now and June, the price leadership will be firmly established."