Tag: IPMAN

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and a rights group, Justice Agenda, have faulted the prolonged closure of the Taurus jetty and depot in Warri, Delta State.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDRA) sealed the facilities in January while investigating the discharge of over 9.8 million litres of water instead of PMS shipped through MT Austria vessel.

Chairman of IPMAN, Delta State, Harry Okenin, lamented the hardship faced by his members whose products are locked up in Taurus depot.

He said it was unfair to subject the depot and its members to unquantifiable losses over a matter they know nothing about.

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Executive Director of Justice Agenda, Abira Solomon, said the continued closure of the jetty and depot is not only hurting businesses but also sending a wrong signal to investors.

He urged NMDRA to quickly conclude its investigation and make its findings known instead of ruining businesses and keeping stakeholders in the dark.

The group said: “While we believe that NMDRA is rightfully carrying out its mandate of investigating an alleged breach in the sector, our concern is that the investigation into the Koko terminal incident is taking too long and has grounded business activities in the region.

“For six months, the only terminal used by vessels for the discharge of petroleum product was rendered unusable as MT Austria was grounded there. One of the five depots there, Taurus, is also under lock and key.

“While we insist that NMDRA must do a thorough investigation into ascertaining how a fuel consignment shipped by NNPCL turned out to be water, we insist that shutting off Taurus jetty and depot perpetually is wrong.”

…Over 6,000 filling stations may be affected

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has said it is in discussions with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) not to delist its members from their customer express portals and also extend the deadline for processing of members’ licences from April to July, 2024.

The customer express portals are used by oil marketers to access and pay for petroleum products in all the NNPC Limited depots as well as private depots the NNPCL use for products storage and throughputs.

The IPMAN National President, Abubakar Maigandi, made this known in a telephone chat with The Nation on Sunday, May 5.

According to him, the negotiation has become necessary because of the ripple effect it would have on the downstream oil sector, especially on motorists and also marketers.

“We are in negotiation with the NMDPRA and NNPCL to have a rethink and further extend the deadline from April to maybe July or August because of the hardship delisting our members will cause. You have to know that IPMAN constitute about 80 per cent of petrol retail outlets (filling stations) across the country; so delisting a good number of such outlets will definitely have a telling effect on the country,” he explained.

The delay to the renewal of licences may not also be unconnected to the bureaucracy from the regulators’ end. Most of the marketers, it was gathered, had submitted their payment receipts to the regulators, but are yet to be processed. Besides, the increase in cost of renewal is another bottleneck which has delayed the process.

According to Maigandi, the renewal fee has been increased to about N1 million per filling station.

This, IPMAN believes, is on the high side.

“The regulators also have a fault in the delay because a lot of marketers have submitted their receipts for processing of their licence but the NMDPRA has not been able to conclude and issue them their certificates to operate.

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“Also is the issue on the new rate of about N1 million per filling station now being charged by the regulator. We are appealing to them to review this downwards considering that we are indigenous marketers, so if they run us out of business then who will run the business?” Maigandi argued.

With the April 16 deadline for renewal elapsing, over 6, 000 operators risk being delisted because as at the expiration of the deadline, only 9,000 members’ licences are said to have being processed.

IPMAN, in a press statement signed by its National Public Relations Officer (PRO), Chinedu Ukadike, said the implication of this deadline is that once the customer express portals are closed, the unprocessed licences will be delisted shutting thousands of members out of business.

“We are appealing that NMDPRA and NNPCL should extend the deadline of delisting marketers to July, so that the two agencies would be able to reconcile and update their portals so that marketers will not be unduly marginalised. Currently, the NNPCL portal is still closed because they are updating it, meanwhile, their deadline is 16th of April, 2024,” the statement signed by Ukadike read.

IPMAN noted that extension of the deadline would enable marketers to reconcile their licences and reduce panic buying by members of the public, which is aggravating the present scarcity of petroleum products.

Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) depot chairmen on Tuesday, April 30, threatened to withdraw sales of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) petrol, should the federal government fail to pay its members the outstanding over N200billion bridging claims.

The chairmen who came from all the zones nationwide to Abuja, sought the payment which was for transporting petrol when there was subsidy regime. 

Reading their communique, the Aba depot chairman, Oliver Okolo said: “We repeat, if our demands are not 

met within the shortest period of time, we have already put our members on standby across the nation, as law abiding citizens, we are collectively prepared to withdraw our services, close 

every single outlet, and suspend lifting of products forthwith till our demands are fully met, and the consequences will be terrible. 

“As every marketer’s outlet across Nigeria, from the North to the 

South, and from the East to the West, will be shut down.”

According to the communique, the members are distressed over the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) attitude towards businesses as it intentionally refused to pay the debt.

The association noted that the non-payment of the money has resulted in the death of some of its members, workers sack, and collapse of businesses.

 Okolo said: “It is with a total sense of dismay and deep frustration that we have assembled here today, as the IPMAN Depot Chairmen 

Forum. 

“We are extremely distressed and depressed by the laidback attitude of the leadership of the Nigerian Midstream 

Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), towards the survival of our member’s businesses, arising from NMDPRA’s deliberate delay and refusal in offsetting the debt of 

over N200 Billion owed our members, which has consequently led to the deaths of many of our members and the unfortunate collapse of their businesses.

It is also disheartening to note that some of our members have completely shut down their businesses, and retrenched their employees as we are no longer able to pay salaries.”

The chairmen expressed fear over the attitude of the leadership of the NMDPRA towards the settlement of the debt since September 2022.

Okolo said their members have gone bankrupt because they have not received the money to repay the banks that lent them money for business. 

They noted that “Consequently also, the banks have taken over the business premises of many of our members. 

As indigenous organizations, and Depot Chairmen, we are unhappy that rather than receive support from the government to boost our businesses, we are being discouraged, by the head of NMDPRA.”

They recalled that at a stakeholders meeting held on the 20th of February, 2024 with the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, (Oil), and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, the minister mandated the NMDPRA Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Farouk Ahmed,  “to clear the entire debt in 40 days.”

Oliver said 40 days have since passed the Authority has only paid N13 billion and remains silent about the delay of balance.

The depot chairmen said: “However today, we have crossed the 40 days time lapse given to the NMDPRA to clear the debt, and it is shameful to state that only the paltry sum of N13 bilion has been paid, thus going the whole length to ignore our plight without remorse and without recourse to the Minister’s directive.”

According to him, the NMDPRA has been tricking the members that took the honorable path to continually seek explanation on why the CEO has blatantly refused to offset the remaining debt.

The IPMAN members also rejected the Authority’s indiscriminate increment of over 500% of the issuance and renewal of the Sales and Storage License.

 They called on President Bola Tinubu to look at the hike and reverse it.

The chairmen said: “Secondly, we are not happy with the indiscriminate increment in the issuance and renewal of the Sales and Storage License, by the NMDPRA, and the subsequent delays in acquiring the license, which our members have been recently subjected to.

“As IPMAN members we are also calling on Pres. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to closely look into this unwholesome figure which is highly detrimental to our business and reverse it forthwith, as it is bound to impact negatively on the masses thereafter. 

“We see no reason why there should be an increment of over 500% on 

the Sales and Storage License by the NMDPRA. 

“This is outright wickedness, and therefore highly detrimental to our businesses. We totally reject it.”

Read Also: IPMAN petitions Soludo over demolition of filling station

Expressing fears that the crisis between the IPMAN and NMDPRA will have negative impact on the industry, the chairmen, insisted that if the government fails to meet their demands they may take decisions that could cripple sale of petroleum products any time soon.

They said: “We are poised to take far reaching decisions that may cripple the 

supply and sales of petroleum products across Nigeria, if our demands are not met within the shortest period of time.

“More so, this money in question that the marketers are asking for is our monies set aside, collected from us, and deducted from our own monies, to augment our transport fares. We are merely asking for the return of our monies that is in the purse of the NMDPRA. 

“It is not a matter of government’s budget. NMDPRA have illegally 

taken our monies and this is the highest level of fraud.

“Sequel to this, we are appealing to Mr. President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to please intervene in this quagmire that we have been subjected to by the NMDPRA.”

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has petitioned Gov. Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra over the demolition of a part of property belonging to Chris Tee Petroleum limited.

The property is located at Trans-Nkissi Phase 1, along Onitsha/Otuocha road, Onitsha.

In a letter of appeal, signed by Mr Chinedu Anyaso, Chairman of IPMAN, Enugu Depot Community in charge of Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu States, the association called for Soludo’s intervention.

The association said the demolition was carried out by the Anambra State Physical Planning Board.

“Following a letter of complaint and our on-the-site assessment of damages incurred by our member, whose documents for the operation of the said petrol station are valid (as attached), we were surprised when the agency came and destroyed part of the premises on April 14, 2024.”

The association said the filling station has been in operation since 2012 with all its documents valid.

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“Mr Governor, we kindly appeal for your intervention by directing the said agency to immediately reconstruct the damaged sections of this petrol station to enable them continue with their business as the rainy season is fast approaching,” the letter said.

In a reaction, Mr Chike Maduekwe, Chairman of Anambra State Physical Planning Board, said he had not seen the letter.

“I cannot speculate. When I see the letter I will respond to it,” he said.

(NAN)

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has explained why many petrol stations were not dispensing fuel in Akure and environs.

It said many independent marketers in Ondo state have shut down operations due to high cost of doing fuel business.

Many petrol stations were observed not to have fuel in Akure while those with fuel sold at N670 per litre.

The chairman of IPMAN, Ore Depot, Shina Amoo, who spoke to our reporter, said the independent marketers were not being encuraged by the NNPCL.

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Amoo stated their members do purchase fuel from third parties and were expected to sell at competitive price with major marketers.

He attributed the non-availability of fuel to high capital to high capital, delay in loading of fuel and the continued refusal of the NNPCL to sell to independent marketers.

He said: “When you pay on the NNPCL platform, you will not get your product in three months. 40 percent of our member are not ready for the business.

“Those who could not do the business are quitting. Others who remain are doing so minimally.

“More fuel are coming in but we need to be encouraged by the NNPCL so that we can sell like the major marketers.”