By Abiola Olawale
Despite the current scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as fuel, there are indications that Nigerians may yet face tougher times in accessing one of the most sought-after commodities as oil dealers under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), on Tuesday, threatened to shut down the 30,000 stations operated by its members across the country.
The oil marketers said the decision to shut 30,000 stations across the country was due to the alleged failure of the Federal Government to pay a N200bn that is being owed.
IPMAN alleged that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), an agency of the Federal Government, had refused to clear the debt of the bridging claims, which had continued to accrue since September 2022.
In a communique issued in Abuja by the Chairman of IPMAN Depot Chairmen Forum, Yahaya Alhassan, the oil marketers said the bridging claims are payments made by the government to oil marketers for the transportation of petroleum products loaded from depots to various states across the country.
Alhassan, who appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to look into the demands of the union with matter of urgency, said the consequences of the failure to pay the N200bn “will be terrible, as every marketer’s outlet across Nigeria, from the North to the South, and from the East to the West, will be shut down.”
He added: “As IPMAN, we have taken every step in the past to salvage this unfortunate and looming situation, which we know will not augur well for Nigerians, but we are presently left with no option than to go all out in the next few days to address this ugly trend in our way, which will portend great hardship and danger for Nigerians.”
The IPMAN official pointed out that at a stakeholders meeting held on February 20, 2024, with the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, the Chief Executive of NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, was mandated by Lokpobiri to clear the entire debt in 40 days.
“However, today we have crossed the 40-day time-lapse given to the NMDPRA to clear the debt, and it is shameful to state that only the paltry sum of N13bn has been paid, thus going the whole length to ignore our plight without remorse and recourse to the minister’s directive.
“Before now, we had taken the honorable path to continually seek an explanation from the NMDPRA on why it has blatantly refused to offset the remaining debt, but we have ceaselessly met brick walls,” Alhassan stated.
“This has consequently led to the deaths of many of our members and the unfortunate collapse of their businesses. It is also disheartening to note that some of our members have completely shut down their businesses and retrenched their employees as we are no longer able to pay salaries.
“As businessmen and women, our members acquired bank loans to keep their fuel retail outlets running daily across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria, to serve the teeming population of Nigerians.
“However, it is demoralizing to know that many of our members have gone bankrupt and have become financially insolvent as a result of their inability to meet their financial obligations to their banks, arising wholly from their inability to get their monies from the NMDPRA,”
“NMDPRA has illegally taken our monies and this is the highest level of fraud. Sequel to this, we are appealing to Mr President to please intervene in this quagmire that we have been subjected to by the NMDPRA.
“We repeat, if our demands are not met within the shortest period, we have already put our members on standby across the nation, as law-abiding citizens, we are collectively prepared to withdraw our services, close every single outlet, and suspend lifting of products forthwith till our demands are fully met.”
