The ongoing petrol scarcity across Nigeria may escalate further as independent petrol marketers contemplate withdrawing their services due to unpaid bridging claims totaling N200 billion.
Marketers, represented by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), have issued a stern warning that they will cease the supply of premium motor spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, if the federal government fails to settle the outstanding debt owed to them.
The nationwide scarcity has resulted in a surge in petrol prices, reaching as high as N800 per litre at official pumps and between N1,000 and N1,400 at the black market.
In a communique issued by the IPMAN Depot Chairmen Forum in Abuja, chairman Mazi Oliver Okolo expressed the association’s frustration over the non-payment of the debt despite a directive from the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, in February 2024.
According to Okolo, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) failed to settle the debt despite the minister’s directive, causing financial distress to their members and crippling their businesses.
He attributed the current petrol scarcity to the inability of IPMAN members to access funds from banks due to unpaid bridging claims, ultimately leading to bankruptcies and financial insolvency among marketers.
Furthermore, Okolo accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the sole importer of petroleum products, of exacerbating the situation by supplying products to private depots at exorbitant prices, making it financially unfeasible for IPMAN members to sell at the agreed pump price.
“We have watched with apprehension also, the unpatriotic attitude of the leadership of the NMDPRA to offset this debt that has been accrued to us since September 2022. As businessmen and women, our members acquired bank loans to keep their fuel retail outlets running daily across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria, to serve the teeming population of Nigerians.
“However, it is demoralising to know that many of our members have gone bankrupt and have become financially insolvent as a result of their inability to meet their financial obligations to their banks, arising wholly from their inability to get their monies from the NMDPRA. Consequently, also, the banks have taken over the business premises of many of our members. As indigenous organisations, and Depot Chairmen, we are unhappy that rather than receive support from the government to boost our businesses, we are being discouraged, by the head
of NMDPRA.
“It is noteworthy to recall and state here that at a stakeholders meeting held on the 20th of February, 2024 with Mr. Heineken Lokpobiri, the Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), and the NSA Nuhu Ribadu, Engr. Farouk Ahmed, the Chief Authority of NMDPRA, was mandated by Mr. Heinehken
Lokpobiri to clear the entire debt in 40 days.
“However today, we have crossed the 40 days time-lapse given to the NMDPRA to clear the debt, and it is shameful to state that only the paltry sum of N13Billion has been paid, thus going the whole length to ignore our plight without remorse and without recourse to the Honourable Minister’s directive,” according to the statement.
Okolo also claimed that the NNPC Ltd imports the products, and supplies to private depots who then sell to them at exorbitant prices of between N820 and N950 per litre, adding that IPMAN members pay an extra N2 million to transport it to other parts of the country, making it difficult for them to sell to Nigerians at the agreed pump price.
The IPMAN members called on President Bola Tinubu to closely look into the matter, which according to them, is highly detrimental to their businesses and reverse it forthwith, as it is bound to impact negatively on the masses thereafter.
“We see no reason why there should be an increment of over 500 per cent on the Sales and Storage License by the NMDPRA. We totally reject it. We also hereby call on the federal government of Nigeria to wholly intervene forthwith in these lingering issues between the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and the Nigerian Midstream & Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
“We are poised to take far-reaching decisions that may cripple the supply and sales of petroleum products across Nigeria, if our demands are not met within the shortest period,” IPMAN stated.
