N500bn transportation claims: Fuel scarcity looms nationwide as marketers threaten to shut down operations
…Parties must have roundtable discussion to avert artificial scarcity — Ehindero
By Uthman Salami and Dennis Matthew
Long queues and fuel scarcity may soon return to filling stations across the country as the Independent Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has warned the government of imminent dire cases of fuel scarcity, threatening that it would be the worst the country has ever witnessed.
This is coming on the heels of non-payment of Bridging Claims, otherwise known as transportation claims, amounting to about N500bn by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The marketers, however, charged the Federal Government to prevail on the Authority to pay N500 billion bridging claims by its members in order to avert the imminent fuel scarcity.
The Chairman of IPMAN, Kano Branch Bashir Danmalam, made this threat in the State while addressing journalists on Monday.
The lack of payment of the claims for the past nine months, otherwise known as the transportation claims, has pushed many of its members out of business and affected the industry due to the high cost of diesel, Danmalam claimed.
He disclosed that “NMDPRA is responsible for the payment of bridging claims otherwise known as transportation claims.
“For failure of the NMDPRA to pay the outstanding claims for about nine months, many marketers cannot transport the product because their funds are not being paid.
“Despite the high price of diesel, they manage to supply the petroleum products nationwide.
“The resurfacing of fuel queues in Abuja is just a tip of the iceberg with regard to the petroleum scarcity.
“Only five percent of the marketers can supply the petroleum products because of the failure of NMDPRA to pay them,” he stated.
He said that since the merging of DPR, PEF and PPPRA to NMDPRA they have only been paid twice.
While charging the Federal Government for intervention by preventing the situation from escalating and spreading to all parts of the country, he said, “As leaders, we have to come out to say the truth because our members are suffering from the failure of the agency to pay the fund.
“This Petroleum Equalisation Fund is our own money we contribute to each litre. This agency is doing more harm than good to us.
“We are not agitating for a transportation fee increase; we are only clamouring for payment of our bridging claims that is over N500 billion,” he added.
Recall that several filling stations in Abuja and neighbouring states of Nasarawa and Niger had witnessed long queues.
Some of these filling stations claimed not to have products to dispense, a development that led to the crowding of the filling stations that dispensed the commodity.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued on Sunday by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC) said the fuel queues in Abuja were likely caused by low loadouts at depots which usually happens during long public holidays.
The statement partly read, “The NNPC Ltd notes the sudden appearance of fuel queues in parts of Abuja. This is very likely due to low loadouts at depots which usually happen during long public holidays, in this case, the Sallah celebrations.
“Another contributing factor to the sudden appearances of queues is the increased fuel purchases which is also usual with returning residents of the FCT from the public holiday.”
Parties must have roundtable discussion to avert artificial fuel scarcity — Ehindero
While speaking with Nigerians NewsDirect on the threat of fuel scarcity, the Director General and Lead Strategist of Nigerian Workforce Strategy and Enlightenment Centre (NIWOSEC), Dr. David Kayode Ehindero solicited for the two parties to have a roundtable discussion to avert the artificial fuel scarcity in the country.
He called on the federal government to deploy the same mechanism applied in averting the proposed shutdown of the Aviation Sector by airline Operators recently to the energy sector because what is good for the goose is good for the gander.
Dr. Ehindero further emphasized that finding a lasting remedy to fuel scarcity in the country should be prioritised considering the fact that the cost of fuel determines the prices of commodities in the market.
The Director General also appealed to the members of IPMAN to soften their demands noting that the country had huge debts that the Government is trying to resolve.
