Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, cried out yesterday over its members’ exclusion from direct supply of petrol from NNPC Limited.
The independent marketers said in the absence of direct bulk supply from NNPC, its members had had to source products from private depot owners at exorbitant rates.
IPMAN Public Relations Officer, Chief Chinedu Ukadike, who spoke exclusively to Vanguard, said until independent marketers who operate the majority of petrol stations across the country were able to get direct supply from NNPC, it would be difficult to end the lingering fuel queues that had lasted over two months.
He explained that while petrol products had started arriving at ports in Warri, Port Harcourt and Lagos, IPMAN members struggled to access the product.
“For some weeks now, products have not been supplied to IPMAN members. We have been buying from other tank farm owners and major marketers. But recently, products have started coming in. We are aware that they are receiving products now in Warri, Lagos and Port Harcourt, and marketers’ barge will soon come out.
‘’If IPMAN members can holistically be allocated the product, all these issues of profiteering and bottlenecks will be resolved. This is our constraints and there is nothing we can do than go to other tank farms to see if we can get product from them.
“So, we don’t have access to our own petroleum products and allocations have not been given to us,” he declared.
Ukadike assured that if the bottlenecks were resolved, there would be products at affordable rates.
Speaking on why the cost of obtaining the product from the private depots was high, he said: “The price varies, depending on how scarce the product is.
‘’When the product is scarce, the tank farm owners normally sell to their own filling stations. So, what we now do is to go to their filling stations where there will be a surge of trucks waiting to be discharged to see how we can be able to lobby and pay extra money to get petroleum products.
‘’Likewise for NNPC. Once you go to their filling stations, you will see a surge of trucks, over 6-7 trucks parked by the side waiting to be discharged. So, we are no longer independent marketers; we are now dependent marketers. Independent marketers are not really captured in terms of the distribution of the chain”.
He explained that before now, it costs about N500,000 to bring a truck from the coastal depots to Abuja but noted that cost has escalated to about N3.5 million due to the high cost of diesel, truck maintenance and bad roads.
Oil marketers had recently advocated a reduction in the pump price of diesel to N700 per litre to help improve the distribution of petrol across the country.
The President of the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria, NOGASA, Mr. Benneth Korie Doi, stated in Abuja that the high cost of diesel used by trucks was a significant barrier to the efficient distribution of petrol nationwide.
Mr. Doi had said: “Regarding the prices of Automated Gas Oil, AGO, with Dangote’s refinery production and crude oil transactions in naira, we expect a reduction in AGO prices. NNPC should leverage its shares in Dangote’s refinery to drive down these costs, which will, in turn, lower transportation expenses and reduce market prices.”
He emphasized the need for the government to create a competitive downstream sector in the petroleum industry, arguing that monopolies were detrimental.
“We must foster a competitive environment to ensure the healthy circulation of petroleum products. I commend Aliko Dangote for his monumental contribution to our industry through the establishment of the largest refinery in Nigeria.
“This development promises substantial benefits, including enhanced supply, increased competition, and a boost to our national economy and currency.
“To ensure balanced distribution, I urge that Dangote’s refined products be made available to a broader range of stakeholders, including NNPC Trading, NNPC Retail, DAPPMAN, MOMAN, IPMAN, PETROAN, and NOGASA. This inclusivity will facilitate sustainable and widespread distribution across the country,” he said.