The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria has asked the Federal Government to allocate at least 30 per cent of its discounted petrol supply to its members, saying the move would improve nationwide distribution and make the price reduction accessible to more Nigerians.

Our correspondent on Saturday reported that the PETROAN President, Billy Gillis-Harry, made the appeal in an interview with Arise News following the Federal Government’s discounted petrol initiative.

He said the association’s extensive retail network could complement the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s distribution efforts and improve the availability of petrol across the country.

“The 30% we mentioned is actually a minimum, because we could do more depending on the dynamics NNPC sees on how we can work together. The fact is that we have over 230 million Nigerians dependent on this energy to run their daily economy. The number of NNPC retail outlets, as good as they are, may not be able to do the entire work in an efficient and expeditious manner.

PETROAN has larger retail volume, which also includes NNPC retail outlets among our members.

“We see the government’s intervention as something that could help Nigerians as fast as possible, with us playing that role to deepen distribution channels faster and more efficiently. 30% could be more or less depending on what NNPC looks at, but we have made that appeal and presentation showing the value of what that can do to make the policy efficient,” he stated.

Why PETROAN wants a share

Gillis-Harry said access to the discounted petrol would enable independent retail outlets to sell at lower prices while retaining enough profit to cover their operating costs.

He explained that PETROAN members could not afford to forgo their profit margins entirely, unlike the NNPC, which he said was prepared to sacrifice part of its profit under the initiative.

“We don’t have the deep pockets of NNPC to forego profits. The reason is simple: if we have the product already well-discounted landing at our outlets, we can sell at a much cheaper price than if we buy from other sources,” he added.

The PETROAN president said the association would pay the NNPC for the product and distribute it through its members’ outlets, rather than receive the petrol for free.

He stated, “We’d just be an extension of NNPC’s efforts—just doing what NNPC is doing. That way, we are able to carry this same product down to the nooks and crannies of Nigeria. That is more important than having 15 stations in a city serving a population of about 3 million people. If you have an additional 1,000 or 2,000 stations in that city, distribution efficiency will be higher, and Nigerians will benefit more.

“We are not going to lose our profits; we will work out the dynamics. We will pay NNPC for the product; they don’t give us product for free. Our proposal is simply: if you have 1 billion liters to supply through this method, give us 30% (300 million liters), which we can extend to our members without making it much more expensive.”

He added that distributing the discounted petrol through more outlets could improve availability and reduce queues at NNPC retail stations.

“We understand the need and dynamics of servicing Nigerians with those two critical points: availability and affordability. This will not be any different. If we buy from other sources, we will sell at a higher price, causing NNPC retail outlets to be massively impacted by queues. If that product is spread around to different outlets, it enhances the purpose.

“We are only extending NNPC’s efficiency. We are certainly speaking to the government, and we expect that government will say yes because it helps in ensuring the policy works,” Gillis-Harry stated.

PETROAN rejects fuel subsidy return claims
Gillis-Harry rejected suggestions that the discounted petrol initiative amounted to a return of fuel subsidy, arguing that the arrangement involved the NNPC sacrificing part of its profit rather than the government paying the difference between the landing cost and pump price.

He opined, “No, I do not agree that subsidy is returning. When we say PMS is subsidized, it means landing cost—just as an example—is ₦1,350 and the government takes the shock of ₦700. That is a subsidy. In this case, the policy is simply: NNPC, out of your profit, ₦16 should be discounted. NNPC is going to buy the product from a source, either through local refineries or imports.

“What we are saying as retail outlet owners is that we want to latch onto that so it becomes an extension of ensuring this policy filters down to all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.”

On the proposed ₦1,350-per-litre ceiling on petrol landing costs, the PETROAN president expressed reservations, warning that fixing a predetermined landing cost could undermine the discount initiative if market prices fell below that level.

“Our reaction is that it will be difficult to pre-determine what the landing cost will be. The moment we start working towards that, it takes us away from this intervention, which is supposed to just be a discount. Once the government starts saying petrol must land at ₦1,350, what happens if the price comes down to ₦1,250?

“We do not think that is a better policy. At the end of the day, we need the government to ensure there is support for business. If business is supported and the stations are wet, they do business to encourage Nigerians, because everyday PMS, diesel, and gas are used. It is our retail outlets that provide these services,” he stated.

Gillis-Harry said PETROAN was awaiting the Federal Government’s response to its request and maintained that members would sell the discounted petrol at the same price as NNPC retail outlets if the proposal was approved.

He said, “It will not be any different from what NNPC is doing, because all we are doing is being an extension.”

“Yes, we are waiting, and hopefully they will respond.”