From Princely Onyenwe
Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has opened up the secret cause of fuel hike across the country.
IPMAN alleged that the recent scarcity of fuel across the states in Nigeria is caused by the shortage of supply of Petroleum from the NIGERIAN National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
9News Nigeria reports that Marketers are been denied of having direct payment to the NNPC remittal portal that was made available by the Federal Government.
The payment portal that they usually requested marketers to pay through is now rejecting payments for products.
The most worrisome is the attitude of government towards Fuel scarcity, which seems insensitive of the situation without making frantic efforts to proffering possible ways and remedy to save the country from fuel hike.
Regrettedly this is happening few weeks to the Christmas season, a time when Christians go for holiday and public sector shut down for the celebration.
It has been revealed that the crisis did not emanate from the independent marketers and therefore NIGERIANs should blame NNPC and government for the shortage.
Speaking with the IPMAN Boss in Oyo and Osun states this Tuesday morning at their Ibadan sector command, Ahaji Mutiu Bukola stated that the fuel scarcity been experienced is as a result of gross mis- management of the NNPC. He stated that marketers now go to private depots to negotiate at a higher prices and supply to filing stations at higher prices too.
He frowned at the hard times NIGERIANs are going through while stating that the last users which included the vehicle owners, production firms and the Nigerian people are taking the highest challenge.
He said for instance Marketers have not loaded a litre of fuel from APATA depot in Ibadan having recorded five depots allocated to South West and none of them is working at present at the time of this report by 9News Nigeria.
However it may shock my readers that such sorry situation is been experienced across the Zones and Depots in the country.
For six months now, none of the existing marketing companies that are duly registered and licensed with NNPC by law is being given opportunity to pay, which implies that Ibadan alone did not have fuel at NNPC since the beginning of 2022 till date. What is then the duty of NNPC as a regulatory agency not to have supplied fuel to registered marketing companies? The IPMAN Boss frowned.
He futher exposed plans by NNPC to keep hoarding supply of Fuel while marketing companies now buy from the third party at exorbitant price.
The scarcity of fuel has affected virtually every sector of production and by implication caused high tags of prices on petroleum products, food stuff, market products and transport fare as reported by 9News Nigeria.
IPMAN therefore challenged the Federal Government through the minister of petroleum and the NNPC to act immediately to save the situation and failure to act on the situation on hand, marketers will be left with no other option than to WITHDRAW their services.
While stating that marketers buy at high prices, he noted with dismay that they are selling at very high price and still run at loss.
According to IPMAN Boss, “we buy at exorbitant prices ranging from N212 and N220 per liter and adding truck expenses and transportation, that means that we are getting the Fuel to various stations beyond N260”
“As we talk, dear correspodent, Princely Onyenwe, it is NNPC alone that is importing petroleum products to Nigeria and the products that are meant to be given to us as independent marketers that are duly registered are being diverted to NNPC likely private dealers, so we can buy from the third party at unregulated prices, said IPMAN Boss in Ibadan.
The NNPC should put frantic efforts to to radicate the channels which this fuel passes across the country, so supply be made and the masses be happy. The government on their part are not helping matters, this calls for immediate consideration.
Quoting the words of a Fmr Nigerian president, Olesegun Obasanjo, voting based on emotion is destroying Nigeria” Fuel scarcity is an outcome of bad leadership and therefore campaigns and voting of candidates for 2023 elections have to be thoroughly and carefully followed.
The scarcity is still on. No Fuel at many filling stations I interviewed across the states. Traveling from Ore to Lagos without sighting a single filling station selling Fuel is a disaster and risky situation, NIGERIANs are passing through.
In the east, same situation is getting out of hands as customers are buying 255-260 at the time of this report by 9News Nigeria.
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