By Dipo Olowookere
Oil marketers in Nigeria under the aegis of Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA) have been accused of owing Federal Government the sum of N26.7 billion.
This claim was made by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which noted that despite this indebtedness, it has not still stopped supply Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol, to the oil marketers.
NNPC, while reacting to a statement issued by DAPPMA on Monday, where it claimed that depots of its members were empty because there was no fuel supplied to them, disclosed that despite the concession by the government giving access to DAPPMA to obtain forex at an official rate of N305 per Dollar for PMS import, their members have not been able to do so, leaving NNPC as the sole supplier of PMS to the Nigerian market.
The state-owned oil firm described the association’s statement as “very unfortunate.”
“NNPC wishes to affirm that it has supplied appreciable volume to DAPPMA, Major Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria (IPMAN) to rid the challenges currently being experienced in the supply and distribution of petroleum products in the country,” NNPC said.
“NNPC regrets that DAPPMA which members had taken receipts of products from Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of NNPC and owe the company to the tune of N26.7 billion as at December 21, 2017, has the audacity to indict NNPC unjustifiably.
“The statement by DAPPMA that the current hiccups in the supply of products was due to the inability of the Direct Sales Direct Purchase (DSDP) partners of NNPC to deliver on their business obligations is unfounded and self-indicting as many of DAPPMA members patronize the same DSDP international counterparts as the corporation,” the statement disclosed.
“NNPC assures the public that despite the increase it effected in the supply of PMS in the December 2017, it has nonetheless, programmed to supply 1.2 billion litres of the white products in January 2018, translating to about 40million litres of PMS supply per day. Ordinarily, Nigeria consumes about 700 trucks (about 27million – 30million) litres per day.
“Despite the current challenges, Nigerians are reassured that there is no plan to increase PMS pump price above N145/litre and that NNPC will continue to maintain ex–depot price of N133.28/litre which guarantees the pump price not exceeding the N145 per litre capped by the government.
“All stakeholders are implored to support the efforts of government to bring a speedy end to the current fuel distribution challenges being experienced in parts of the country as this is not the time to play the blame game,” the statement said.
Adedapo Adesanya