As the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) hands-off the monopoly of petrol importation, petroleum marketers have demanded immediate release of their outstanding supplies of Premium Motor Spirit otherwise known as petrol worth N30.96 trillion by the national oil company.
Addressing journalists at the Suleja/Abuja secretariat of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) yesterday, the marketers commended the federal government for ending the subsidy regime, saying, however, that the industry will never stabilise if the outstanding product tickets are not settled by the NNPCL.
The members of the association held a caucus meeting over the weekend which comprised the chairmen of depots from Suleja/Abuja, Gusau, Minna and Kaduna among others, where they expressed dismay over the long delay by the NNPCL in releasing the products to their members.
The chairman of the Suleja/Abuja Secretariat of the IPMAN, Alhaji Yahaya Ahman Alhassan, said the NNPCL sold the product tickets to their members between six to seven months ago, and used the money to import fuel into the country but was yet to dispense it despite several follow-ups.
He said the government should not mistakenly scrap the bridging scheme as it’s not a government-owned subsidy. “The scheme is self-funded by marketers. The government does not contribute a kobo to the scheme and that has helped various governments in the past to balance the distribution of the products in the country.
“There are more than 4,000 outstanding tickets with the NNPCL and each ticket is worth N7,740,000. We fear that most of our members borrowed from banks to buy the products and the loans accumulate huge interest. Some of our members are being harassed by the bank officials.
“We call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to quickly intervene as any scarcity of the product in the market will push the country into a serious fuel crisis that will never be contained within a short period.”
