“We Have Not Loaded a Single Truck”: Marketers Call Out NNPC for N15 Billion Debt

• Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria said NNPCL owes Petroleum Marketers about N15 billion in debt
• According to the marketers, since the NNPCL raised the price of their pump, not a single truck has been loaded
• His comments came right after the NNPCL changed the fuel prices at its retail stores in Abuja and Lagos

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3 years of experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is allegedly in debt to the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) to the tune of over N15 billion.

This was said by Abubakar Garima, National President of IPMAN, during Thursday's Sunrise Daily program on Channels Television.

Garima said,

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“Our money has been with the NNPCL for almost three months now. Either they sell for us at the same rate they are getting the product from Dangote Refinery or refund us so we can buy directly from Dangote Refinery.”

“We (IPMAN) have not loaded a single truck since the NNPCL increased its pump price. Our money is already with the NNPCL. It has refused to give us the product we paid for and is asking us to complete the difference,” IPMAN lamented.

His remarks were made immediately following the NNPCL's adjustment of fuel rates at its retail locations in Lagos and Abuja.

Lagos NNPCL stations charged N998 for a litre of gasoline, N150 more than the N855 initial price.

The price of a litre of the commodity at the pump increased to N1,030 from N897 in Abuja, the capital of the country. In certain areas of Lagos State, the product is sold for as much as N1,050 at other filling stations.

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IPMAN claims that the action is a result of the industry's complete deregulation.

“Well, we know now that we cannot call it an increase, but rather, we can call the removal of subsidy deregulation. Now, deregulation has started taking place fully,” he said.

Petrol to become available

In Nigeria, fuel lines are a regular sight even though President Bola Tinubu said that the fuel subsidy program would terminate.

However, Garima claims that the most recent price increase will guarantee the product's availability.

“The change that Nigerians are going to expect now: one, we are expecting availability since there is no subsidy,” he said.

“The NNPC is not the sole importer. Other marketers too will participate. It is the same thing in buying the product. Other marketers will buy products directly from Dangote. It is not only NNPC.

Marketers to begin direct purchase of Dangote petrol

Legit.ng reported that Major oil marketers were set to start purchasing petrol from the Dangote Refinery directly as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) ended its agreement with the facility.

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A report cited sources from the NNPC and the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), confirming on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, that the state oil company is no longer the sole distributor of Dangote petrol.

The decision now paves the way for marketers to buy the product directly from the mega refinery.

Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng

Source: Legit.ng