Petroleum product marketers under the aegis of the Northern Independent Petroleum Marketers Forum have threatened to withdraw their services due to unpaid transportation claims since June last year.
Speaking on behalf of the forum in Kano, Alhaji Gana Girgiri, said the action of the Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF) now merged into the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) of not paying the transport claims is pushing marketers out of business.
Daily Trust reports that the ongoing fuel scarcity has been compounded by the suspension of some tanker owners over the high cost of diesel but NARTO confirmed the federal government had increased the freight rate to 22 per cent.
Girgiri also said there were several attempts to get PEF to respond to their demands.
“Even though we pay N35 to transport a litre to our respective states while PEF pays us only N22 per litre, we were not complaining but the issue is that most of us didn’t receive our payment since June 2021 and some of us have outstanding claims dated 2020 and yet we kept operating.
“We want to let the authorities understand that we can no longer cope and if things are not put in order, we will be left with no option than to withdraw our services,” said Girgiri.
Another member, Alhaji Jamilu Maitama, said: “Should the marketers withdraw their services at this critical point when the Muslim fasting period is approaching, the fuel crisis will be compounded and the situation will get worst. I urge the authorities to as a matter of utmost importance do something to avert the services withdrawal,” he said.
Although NMDPRA had yet to respond the payment claims, the Authority had earlier this year allayed the fears of marketers about settling the bridging claims being the difference between the cost of transporting petrol around the coastal areas and the cost of transporting same from the coastal areas to the hinterlands.
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