The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has berated the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for alleged delay in the supply of petroleum products.
As a result, the marketers said they had been forced to boycott the NNPCL to source fuel from private depot owners at a higher cost.
In an exclusive interview with our correspondent, the National Vice President of IPMAN, Hammed Fashola, asked the Federal Government to review the current distribution pattern to give priority to IPMAN members.
According to him, independent marketers own 80 per cent of the filling stations in Nigeria and, as such, deserve the “lion’s share” in fuel allocation.
Fashola said, “More so, we buy products from NNPCL cash and carry. We don’t enjoy any credit facility with the NNPCL. There are times when we pay for products, and we don’t get the products for two or three months. You have your money in the coffers of the NNPCL, which means they are trading with our money.
“If I am not exaggerating, we should be talking of over N300bn, when you consider the number of marketers all over Nigeria. Our money is always there trapped, while we keep struggling to get fuel.
He narrated that marketers usually pay through the NNPCL portal with the hope of getting the product in two to three days; but “that two three days will turn into months if they don’t have products or they are out of stock, you have to wait, and your money will be there.”
Fashola emphasised that IPMAN members “have our money in billions in the NNPCL wallet. Apart from that, we have invested so much, especially the northern marketers, now their money is trapped, in billions. They cannot even afford to buy products again because of that money there”.
