The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has announced a potential nationwide shutdown due to the high prices at which the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited is selling petrol to its members.
IPMAN revealed that petrol is currently being supplied to independent marketers at N1,010/litre, while the cost from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is approximately N898/litre.
IPMAN, which manages over 70% of filling stations in the country, is demanding a refund for previous payments and warns that this situation could exacerbate petrol scarcity and fuel queues across Nigeria.
On Thursday, it was reported that members of the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria are still receiving subsidized petrol from the Dangote refinery under previous agreements with NNPC.
Speaking, the National Publicity Secretary of IPMAN, Chinedu Ukadike
stated that the association may take action if the ongoing issues with NNPC are not resolved promptly.
This comes after IPMAN’s national president, Abubakar Maigandi, disclosed that NNPC is charging independent marketers N1,010/litre for petrol at its Lagos depot, intensifying the tensions within the sector.
Maigandi who spoke during a live television interview, criticized NNPC for charging independent marketers more than what it pays for petrol from the Dangote refinery.
He pointed out that NNPC acquires the product at N898/litre but sells it to marketers at N1,010/litre in Lagos, with even higher prices in other cities: N1,045 in Calabar, N1,050 in Port Harcourt, and N1,040 in Warri.
Additionally, he highlighted that NNPC has withheld independent marketers’ funds for approximately three months, exacerbating the situation.
“Our major challenge now is that independent marketers have an outstanding debt from the NNPC and the company collected products through Dangote at a lower rate, which is not up to N900, but they are telling us now to buy this product from them at the price of N1,010/litre in Lagos; N1,045 in Calabar; N1,050 in Port-Harcourt; and N1,040 in Warri”, Maigandi stated.
Maigandi stressed that IPMAN’s funds held by NNPC have accumulated to N15 billion, expressing the association’s eagerness to fully engage in the petrol business following the sector’s deregulation.
He urged for immediate resolution to the pricing issues, asserting that independent marketers want to actively participate in the market without such financial burdens.
“Marketers want to be fully engaged in the business of petrol and its components. NNPC has been the one bringing in the product and loading and has an off-take in the Dangote refinery.
“We are now being allowed to import and there is no challenge on that issue. What we are after is to get the product directly from Dangote and not through NNPC. Currently, they owe us up to N15bn,” he added.
On Wednesday, NNPC retail stations increased petrol prices, raising them to N1,030/litre in Abuja from N897/litre and to N998/litre in Lagos from N868/litre.
However, NNPC is yet to make any official statement regarding the increase in petrol prices.
This marked the second price hike within a month, reflecting a 14.8% increase or N133.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Organised Private Sector have called for an immediate reversal of these increases.
