Members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers’ Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, threatened to boycott private depots unless they are supplied products at the same regulated price to major marketers.
Citing the prevalence of a discriminating distribution system between IPMAN and major marketers, the independent operators have given a seven-day notice to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, to address their concerns or they boycott the depots, thereby worsening the already tense fuel situation in the country.
IPMAN Ejigbo Satellite Depot Chairman, Akin Akinrinade in a chat with journalists yesterday, also called out the regulatory agency, NMDPRA, for allowing the situation to deteriorate.
He raised some posers saying, “How do you explain the fact that Major Marketers and NNPC Retail outlets sell at N170/ltr and N169/ltr of petrol at their stations, respectively, (and still make profit)? They get their supplies from the same Mother Vessels brought into the Nigerian waters by NNPC Limited. Do they not use Daughter Vessels? Why is it impossible for the Private Depots to sell to IPMAN members at regulated price since they get their supplies from the same source as major marketers? Nobody seems to be interrogating this obvious anomaly.
“The authorities should tell Nigerians how it is possible for the major marketers to sell at a pump price N170/ltr of petrol and the private depot (who are middlemen), sell to IPMAN members at N217/ltr of petrol, ex-depot. It is NNPC that supplies both of them (at same price). From what is playing out, the only ineluctable conclusion is that the private depot owners, in connivance with the authorities in charge of distribution of petrol, are playing games with our collective destinies. The simple fact that the Federal Government is subsidizing petrol makes whoever has custody of it, to do in trust for Nigerians whose funds are being used to subsidize the product.
“They should not be allowed to profiteer. We call on NMDPRA to wake up and do the needful at the depots. We are in this dire position because the NNPC depots across the country are not working. These non-functional depots left IPMAN members orphaned since the beginning of the year 2022. While arrangements were made for major marketers to load at their various depots and at times at the Private Depots, no such arrangement was made for IPMAN members.”
Despite IPMAN members controlling more than 80 percent of the filling stations across Nigeria, Akinrinade stated that any distribution arrangement that excludes IPMAN members is bound to fail.
He noted that the only immediate solution to the current quagmire is to bring IPMAN back into the distribution system, via a through-put arrangement with some private depots to warehouse petrol for loading by IPMAN members at government regulated price.
Cross River: Residents Of Calabar Buying Fuel At N500/Litre As Scarcity Bites
Motorists and commuters in Calabar, are feeling the biting effect of scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, that suffaced in the capital city of Cross River about two weeks ago.
The development has caused untold hardship to residents of the city as transport fare as well as prices of goods and services have been hiked.
However, the situation worsened in the last two days as commuters have resulted to trekking the distance to their destinations since motorists have pulled their vehicles off the road.
Motorists now charge between N150 to N250 on routes that used to cost between N50 and N100.
The worsened situation, however, has increased the activities of blackmarket dealers, who have seized the opportunity to make bricks business.
While the few filling stations that have stock of the product dispense at between N450 to N500 per litre, in blackmarket costs between N650 to N700.
Checks by Vanguard revealed that some filling stations with stock dispense the product to the black marketers at midnight or in the early hours of the day.
Vanguard also gathered that the scarcity of PMS in Calabar was as a result of unresolved issue between the host community and NUPENG.
The issue have resulted in the inability of tankers to lift products from depots at Esuk Utan, Calabar Municipality LGA.
A source, who pleaded anonymity, told Vanguard that the host communities are at loggerhead over issues of royalties
“We hope the matter will be resolved soon and tankers start lifting products.
“I don’t want to go into details as the matter is being discussed to find a solution to the imbroglio,” the source said.
Daniel Asuquo, a commuters, who bemoaned the situation called on the Cross River state Government as well as NUPENG, IPMAN to see to the peaceful resolution of the matter.
“We know there is a nationwide fuel crisis, but our case in Calabar is a bit peculiar.
“We learnt that there is issue between host community and the Union.
“There should be understanding between all parties so that this untold hardship can be resolved,” Asuquo said.
Meanwhile, Bolt drivers have raised the alarm that the scarcity was negatively impacting on their business as many of them had resorted to buying PMS from the blackmarket.
One of the affected driver, Mr Pascal Bajie regretted the fuel situation in the capital city and stressed that apart from the hike in pump price of the product, the challenge is the unavailability.
“You can’t even get a filling station to buy from.
“The few that are open for business sell a litre for between N400 to N500 with long queues that have forced many of us to patronize black market dealers.
“How can you buy fuel at N700 per litre? How much will you make from a ride?
“Many of our customers are frequently cancelling rides, the fuel crisis is really affecting bolters adversely,” he said.
Efforts to speak with the leadership of NUPENG and IPMAN in Cross River proved abortive as non of their chairmen answered their phones.
