The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to sell Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, to its marketers at the same rates offered by Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
The association also demands a refund of the funds owed to the oil marketers, which have been held by NNPC for the past three months.
The national president of IPMAN, Abubakar Shettima, expressed these concerns during an appearance on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily program on Thursday.
He emphasized the financial strain that the prolonged delay in refunds has placed on petroleum marketers, urging the NNPC to take immediate action.
The IPMAN president said, “Our major challenge now is that already, we have an outstanding debt by the NNPC and the company collected product through Dangote refinery at a lower rate — not up to ₦900.
“Presently, our money has been with them (NNPC) for almost three months.”
He said the national oil company has directed the IPMAN members “to buy the product from them at the rate of N1,010 in Lagos, ₦1,045 in Calabar, ₦1,050 in Port Harcourt, and ₦1,040 in Warri.”
Speaking further, Shettima expressed displeasure at the NNPC’s stance that marketers should buy petrol directly from the Dangote refinery.
He said, “We have a problem with that because already, we buy products from them.
“So when they made this increment, they told us to add money and buy above what Dangote is selling products to them.
“That is the reason why we told them to return our monies to our banks so that we can go directly to Dangote refinery and buy, if that’s the case.”
He said the NNPC does not sell on credit and “we buy products ahead of loading”.
“Anytime they have products, they will call us to collect our products,” Shettima said.
