The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria

  • IPMAN lauds NNPC for pumping petrol into Ejigbo Depot

    IPMAN lauds NNPC for pumping petrol into Ejigbo Depot

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria ( IPMAN ), Ejigbo Depot, has lauded the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for pumping petrol into the depot.

    Alhaji Ayo Alanamu, the Chairman of Ejigbo Depot, made the commendation in an interview in Lagos on Thursday.

    Alanamu said that NNPC resumed pumping of petroleum products, especially petrol, to the depot on Wednesday to ease fuel scarcity in South-West.

    According to him, loading of petrol by tankers started at the depot on Thursday.

    “I strongly believe that before weekend, queues will vanish.

    “Marketers within Lagos metropolis are being given priority attention while NNPC has increased loading capacity of trucks,’’ he said.

    According to Alanamu, the aim of pumping petroleum products to the depot is to reduce the difficulty marketers go through while taking the products at the Apapa private depot.

    “Now that pumping has resumed in Ejigbo Depot, the number of trucks waiting to take load in Apapa will reduce drastically; it will also reduce the chaotic traffic situation there,’’ he said.

    According to a correspondent, who visited the depot, reports that tankers were taking petroleum products out of the depot.

    However, petrol scarcity within the Lagos metropolis remains the same as many filling stations are without the product.

    NAN

  • NURTW calls for prosecution of black marketers

    NURTW calls for prosecution of black marketers

    The National Union of Road Transport Worker ( NURTW ), Abdulsalam Motor Parks, Minna, Niger State, has advocated the setting up of mobile courts to prosecute “black marketers’’ to serve as deterrent to hoarders.

    The union’s Vice Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Na’ura, made the call in an interview on Wednesday in Minna.

    He advised the government and all relevant agencies to investigate the sources of supply of the products to black marketers and make them face similar sanctions to address the continued artificial scarcity of the product.

    Na’ura said in Minna, many attendants at fuel stations had their agents in strategic locations in and outside the state capital to supply them with the products.

    “While motorists spend nights at filling stations, attendants are seen diverting the products to black marketers.”

    He lamented that petrol was now being sold for between N190 and N200 per litre in Minna, depending on the location of the station.

    Read also: Yuletide: NURTW urges members to drive with caution

    The chairman, however, commended, the Niger Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps for setting up a task force to monitor the sale and distribution of petroleum products in the state.

    “But the task force officers can’t be at the filling stations all the time as soon as they leave, they continue with the illegal business.”

    He said petrol queues were becoming unbearable for motorists in Minna and that it costs a lot of hardship to residents.

    Some of the filling stations operated by Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria ( IPMAN ) have increased their pump price from the approved N145 per litre to between N180 to N200 per litre.

    At the NNPC mega stations and other filling stations operated by major marketers, the queues are longer as they continue to dispense at the official pump price of N145 per litre.

    In Minna town, a four-litre gallon of the product in the black market sells for N1,500 as transport fares have also increased due to the scarcity of the product.

    NAN

  • Scarcity amid plenty

    Nigerians last week Monday woke up in most parts of the country to face the ugly oil distribution palaver of the past.

    Scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol, hit most cities resulting in long queues and traffic gridlock.

    While some of the petrol stations did not open for business, those that were open were overwhelmed as others sold the product above the N145 ceiling price for one litre.

    The fuel scarcity was a major one since the increase of the pump price of petrol to N145 per litre in May 2016.

    The hike in price of the product in 2016 effectively ended the scarcity and long queues for the product which was very rampant under the past administration.

    Then many Nigerians had to suffer to buy the product, with  which the country is abundantly endowed. In most cases they had to sleep for many days on fuel queues at petrol stations.

    The factors responsible for the latest scarcity, however, appeared to be beyond the government authorities in charge.

    To government officials, the scarcity was artificially created as the quantity of fuel in the country could not be exhausted till end of January 2018.

    Some Nigerians believe that the scarcity was a result of manipulation by oil marketers to make brisk incomes as some of the petrol stations have already increased the price of the product to N165 and above for a litre of fuel.

    Others saw it as the seasonal hardship normally Nigerians usually encounter eeks to Christmas celebration and other major festive periods.

    The scarcity has also resulted in accusations and counteraccusations among the stakeholders on the actual cause of the problem.

    Last week, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) claimed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was delaying the loading of its members’ trucks at depots.

    IPMAN, had claimed that the private deports, belonging to Major Oil Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) were supplying IPMAN members above the regulated pump price.

    On the other hand, the Depots and the Petroluem Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN) accused IPMAN of being economical with the truth.

    DAPMAN claimed that it has been supplying its members’ retail outlets at the official price.

    But the good news about the fuel scarcity problem was that the government agencies in charge have been given matching orders to make sure the scarcity ends by last weekend.

    The Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed had said “The Minister of Petroleum had assured the Council that we have enough products till the next one month even till the end of January.

    “Thirdly, this is winter period. There is always more demand for refined products for petroleum during winter period in the colder countries, this is what we are experiencing now.

    “Also that it has been the NNPC that has been importing but he has assured. The council gave him a matching order that this fuel scarcity should not last beyond this weekend and they are going to work very hard to ensure that it is curtailed. He assured council that there is actually no cause for alarm.”

    Stressing that the scarcity was not part of any plan by the government to increase pump price of the product, he said “No. The government has no intention at all to increase the pump price of PMS.”

    But the government’s intervention should not end with clearing the scarcity of the product if it is really true that the supplies of petrol presently in the country will last till end of January.

    There should be a way to check the marketers and prevent them from taking Nigerians for a ride at will.

    Urgent measures should be taken by the relevant agencies of government for checks and balances to determine the cause of the scarcity in other to prevent future occurrence.

    They should be up and doing in their inspectorate and supervisory functions over the oil marketers.

    They should find out if the oil marketers were really the cause of the artificial scarcity.

    Some of the questions they should find answers to include ‘Why did most petrol stations selling up till end of November 2017, suddenly locked their stations first week of December?’, ‘Do they really have fuel in their fuel tanks and refused to see?’ ‘Why are some of the marketers selling above the government approved price per litre?

    During the week, many Nigerians applauded the report claiming that some officials of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) sealed up four filling stations in Edo State for selling fuel above government price of N145 per litre.

    But that is not enough because there are many of such petrol stations across the country trying to cut corners in this period.

    The government agencies should also not shy away from recommending appropriate sanctions for any erring oil marketer to act as deterrence.

    The government should also beam its searchlight at the nation’s porous borders to know if the fuel meant for consumption in the country are again finding its way to neighbouring countries.

     

    Race for number one seat 

    Major political parties in the country are yet to pick their presidential candidates for the forthcoming 2019 presidential elections, let alone the smaller politically parties.

    Neither have the parties signal the beginning of their election campaign.

    But the race for the number one public seat in the country appears to be gathering momentum.

    Latest utterances in the polity across the country are clearly showing that the race for the seat is already on.

    If the February 2019 proposed date for the conduct of the elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is anything to go by, the current administration still has minimum of fourteen months to deliver the goods to Nigerians.

    As much as possible, distractions should be avoided for the long time benefit of Nigerians. They should get value for money in all areas of governance.

     

  • Motorists pay extra money to fill tank

    Motorists pay extra money to fill tank

    Motorists now pay between N500 and N1000 to petrol station attendants before they are allowed to fill their car tanks at some stations in Chanchaga and Bosso local government areas of Niger.

    A correspondent who monitored situation and sale of fuel on Wednesday, reports that apart from cost of product, petrol station attendants demand between N500 and N1,000 to fill the tank of motorists.

    A motorist, Hajiya Rabi Abdullahi in Bosso, said she had to pay extra N1,000 to petrol attendant to fill her car tank.

    She said “I feel it is better for me to pay extra to buy petrol at filling station than buy from`black marketers’ where I am not sure of the quality of the product.”

    Malam Bashir Isa of Maitumbi village said after spending the night at petrol station, he was able to buy the product after paying extra N500 to the attendant to fill his tank.

    He added that “this is pure sabotage because the product is available in most filling stations across the state but marketers are just exploiting us.”

    He called on Federal Government to take drastic measures against any marketer found hoarding product.

    Mr Ahmed Ibrahim, a commercial driver at Abdulsalam Motor Park in Minna told NAN that “black marketers” had taken over most filling stations.

    He said “all the petrol attendants have their agents selling products at strategic locations in and outside the metropolis.”

    He called for the setting up of Mobile Courts to arrest and identify the source of the black marketers’ supply and deal with them accordingly.

    Read also: Motorists lament as fuel scarcity bites hard in Kano

    He said petrol was now being sold at between N130 and N160 per litre in Minna, depending on the location of the station.

    The petrol queues, which reappeared on December 4, are becoming unbearable for motorists in the state.

    Some of the filling stations operated by Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) had increased their pump price from N150 to N160 per litre.

    At the NNPC Mega Stations and other filling stations by major marketers, the queues were longer, as they maintained the official price of N145 per litre.

    A four-litre gallon of the product in the black market cost N1,300 in Minna town as transport fare had also increased due to the scarcity of product.

    The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC)  Niger command had set up a task force to monitor the sale and distribution of petroleum products in the state.

    The 10-man task force was headed by ASP Peter Doma and Alhaji Abdullahi Jankara of the DPR Minna office.

    The task force was given the responsibility of ensuring normal distribution and sale of product at controlled price.

    NAN

  • Scarcity amid plenty

    Nigerians last week Monday woke up in most parts of the country to face the ugly oil distribution palaver of the past.

    Scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol, hit most cities resulting in long queues and traffic gridlock.

    While some of the petrol stations did not open for business, those that were open were overwhelmed as others sold the product above the N145 ceiling price for one litre.

    The fuel scarcity was a major one since the increase of the pump price of petrol to N145 per litre in May 2016.

    The hike in price of the product in 2016 effectively ended the scarcity and long queues for the product which was very rampant under the past administration.

    Then many Nigerians had to suffer to buy the product, with  which the country is abundantly endowed. In most cases they had to sleep for many days on fuel queues at petrol stations.

    The factors responsible for the latest scarcity, however, appeared to be beyond the government authorities in charge.

    To government officials, the scarcity was artificially created as the quantity of fuel in the country could not be exhausted till end of January 2018.

    Some Nigerians believe that the scarcity was a result of manipulation by oil marketers to make brisk incomes as some of the petrol stations have already increased the price of the product to N165 and above for a litre of fuel.

    Others saw it as the seasonal hardship normally Nigerians usually encounter eeks to Christmas celebration and other major festive periods.

    The scarcity has also resulted in accusations and counteraccusations among the stakeholders on the actual cause of the problem.

    Last week, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) claimed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was delaying the loading of its members’ trucks at depots.

    IPMAN, had claimed that the private deports, belonging to Major Oil Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) were supplying IPMAN members above the regulated pump price.

    On the other hand, the Depots and the Petroluem Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN) accused IPMAN of being economical with the truth.

    DAPMAN claimed that it has been supplying its members’ retail outlets at the official price.

    But the good news about the fuel scarcity problem was that the government agencies in charge have been given matching orders to make sure the scarcity ends by last weekend.

    The Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed had said “The Minister of Petroleum had assured the Council that we have enough products till the next one month even till the end of January.

    “Thirdly, this is winter period. There is always more demand for refined products for petroleum during winter period in the colder countries, this is what we are experiencing now.

    “Also that it has been the NNPC that has been importing but he has assured. The council gave him a matching order that this fuel scarcity should not last beyond this weekend and they are going to work very hard to ensure that it is curtailed. He assured council that there is actually no cause for alarm.”

    Stressing that the scarcity was not part of any plan by the government to increase pump price of the product, he said “No. The government has no intention at all to increase the pump price of PMS.”

    But the government’s intervention should not end with clearing the scarcity of the product if it is really true that the supplies of petrol presently in the country will last till end of January.

    There should be a way to check the marketers and prevent them from taking Nigerians for a ride at will.

    Urgent measures should be taken by the relevant agencies of government for checks and balances to determine the cause of the scarcity in other to prevent future occurrence.

    They should be up and doing in their inspectorate and supervisory functions over the oil marketers.

    They should find out if the oil marketers were really the cause of the artificial scarcity.

    Some of the questions they should find answers to include ‘Why did most petrol stations selling up till end of November 2017, suddenly locked their stations first week of December?’, ‘Do they really have fuel in their fuel tanks and refused to see?’ ‘Why are some of the marketers selling above the government approved price per litre?

    During the week, many Nigerians applauded the report claiming that some officials of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) sealed up four filling stations in Edo State for selling fuel above government price of N145 per litre.

    But that is not enough because there are many of such petrol stations across the country trying to cut corners in this period.

    The government agencies should also not shy away from recommending appropriate sanctions for any erring oil marketer to act as deterrence.

    The government should also beam its searchlight at the nation’s porous borders to know if the fuel meant for consumption in the country are again finding its way to neighbouring countries.

    Race for number one seat 

    Major political parties in the country are yet to pick their presidential candidates for the forthcoming 2019 presidential elections, let alone the smaller politically parties.

    Neither have the parties signal the beginning of their election campaign.

    But the race for the number one public seat in the country appears to be gathering momentum.

    Latest utterances in the polity across the country are clearly showing that the race for the seat is already on.

    If the February 2019 proposed date for the conduct of the elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is anything to go by, the current administration still has minimum of fourteen months to deliver the goods to Nigerians.

    As much as possible, distractions should be avoided for the long time benefit of Nigerians. They should get value for money in all areas of governance.

  • IPMAN urges EFCC to curb corruption in refineries, depots

    IPMAN urges EFCC to curb corruption in refineries, depots

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) on Monday urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to curb corruption in the sale of petroleum products in the refineries and depots across the country.

    Speaking with The Nation on phone, the IPMAN National Vice President, Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi explained that sharp practices in the allocation and loading of the products was still a major threat to the free flow of fuel that this administration advocates.

    He said that “you know up till now there is corruption in those NNPC depots, you have to give them money before you load in any of them Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna. All the three refineries.”

    The IPMAN National Vice President, who commended the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru on his recent visit to the EFCC, asked him to take advantage of the relationship to tackle the corruption menace in the oil downstream industry.

    He, however, explained that only NNPC is importing products and it sells them at a lower rate than the independent marketers, which is accountable for the price disparity.

    He added that some independent marketers have however followed suit to lower their pump prices because they seek high turnover. The situation, he said has made the market highly competitive to the benefit of the consumers.

    He noted that marketers were not accessing kerosene directly from NNPC, stressing that the middlemen are responsible for the additional cost in securing the kerosene.

    His words: “The managing director, the other time visited Magu. So, all what they have said is good, if they can go and do it in the right way,  definitely the Kerosene price will crash. Now only NNPC is bringing kerosene because there is a subsidy, so that subsidy because the  NNPC is bringing their own, they sell it at a lower rate to the marketers.

    “So, marketers are not able to import it because of the rate NNPC is selling because they produce, so they sell it at a lower rate.

    They are selling at a lower rate but when marketers come, it will become at a higher rate. So that is the major problem that we are having now, the government is giving it at a lower rate but the marketers can not get it at that rate.

    “Another unnecessary cost, which is not going to the government’s pocket, if the marketers were getting it direct, the way government said they should sell, then definitely by now the kerosene will not pass N150 or 160 highest, in the filling station.

    “Let Magu work with that the Managing Director, since he has gone there to meet him to assist him, let him assist him to eradicate the corruption.”