The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has threatened to stop operations nationwide following the high cost of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, sold to IPMAN members by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
IPMAN revealed on Thursday that the cost of petrol from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to NNPC was about N898/litre, but noted that NNPC was selling the same product to independent marketers at N1,010/litre in Lagos.
IPMAN President, Abubakar Maigandi, yesterday urged the NNPCL to sell petrol to its members at competitive rates based on what is offered to it by Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
The association, which controls over 70 per cent of filling stations nationwide, kicked against this and threatened to down tools, as it also demanded a refund from NNPC for earlier petrol supply payments made by its members.
The IPMAN president stressed the financial strain that the prolonged delay in refund had placed on petroleum marketers, urging the NNPCL to take immediate action.
“Our major challenge now is that already, we have an outstanding debt by the NNPCL and the company collected product through Dangote refinery at a lower rate — not up to N900. Presently, our money has been with them (NNPCL) for almost three months”, he said.
Also speaking with the BBC Hausa Service, IPMAN’s chairman in the northern region, Alhaji Salisu Tantan, said that the NNPCL bought the product at N898/litre from the Dangote Refinery but was selling at over N1,000.
“We are really shocked that they (NNPCL) sold the product to us far and above what we expected,” he said.
He said it was practically impossible for them to sell the product at lesser price to the populace at this point in time, considering that they must also bear the transportation cost.
Asked why they were unable to lift the product directly from the Dangote Refinery, the IPMAN chieftain said they were doing their best to achieve that mileage.
“There is a special arrangement between NNPCL and Dangote; they give him crude oil; he also pays them in naira. It will be difficult for us to key into this kind of arrangement with ease,” he said.
