‘NNPC has no fuel in stock’ – IPMAN explains scarcity
The scarcity of fuel currently being faced by Nigerians has been explained by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Western Zone.
The association said the increase in the pump price of fuel was attributed to a hike in private depot prices.
The IPMAN chairman in the western zone, Alhaji Dele Tajudeen, was reported to have said that the price of fuel at the depot went fuel from N148.17 per litre to N178 per litre last week.
Tajudeen, who bemoaned the increase in the depot price, said none of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC) depots has the product and the private depots took advantage of the situation to hike the price.
He further said that Nigerians should not blame private marketers for the increase in the pump price of fuel, noting that selling at N170 per litre is not realistic.
“The only option for our members is to opt for private depots to keep our business moving. We are totally against the increase because it will affect our profit margins and the masses.
“Some private depots who have the product, deliberately, refused to sell for reasons best known to them.
“Therefore, our members have no other option than to sell between N195 and N200 per litre within Lagos, Ogun and Oyo state, while we will sell between N200 and N210 in Kwara, Ondo, Osun and Ekiti states.
“Most of the tank farm owners have justified this increase because of different charges, among which are vessels charges paid in dollars.
“We are equally calling on the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to investigate the arbitrary increase in fuel price by the private depot owners.”
In the midst of the scarcity, a top official of the Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN), who pleaded anonymity, disclosed that the scarcity was a result of the shortfall in product allocation from the NNPC.
The DAPPMA official said, “We have many invoices before NNPC that have not been allocated.
“Ex-depot price has been between N162 and N163 per litre for marketers within Lagos and its environs, while between N164 and 165 for marketers outside Lagos like Calabar, Port Harcourt, Owerri and so on.
“Some foreign vessels that came into the country refused to discharge, due to financial challenges.
“The shortfall in the product can best be explained by NNPC and its agencies.”
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