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Tag: marketers

  • Marketers to resume fuel importation soon

    Marketers to resume fuel importation soon

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)has advised fuel marketers to seize the opportunity of special window, provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) to access  dollars for importation, its Head, Group Manager, Public Affairs, Ndu Ugbamadu, has said.

    He said marketers will resume importation soon, when they maximise the use of the window, by accessing  enough forex for fuel importation.

    He said when this happens, NNPC will relieve itself of the  burdens of being the sole importer of fuel in the country, adding that the issue is affecting some activities of the corporation.

    He said all the marketers, including NNPC, were regarded as participants in the market, arguing that it would be wrong for marketers under the aegis of Major Marketers Association of Nigerian (MOMAN), the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria(IPMAN) and the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) to conclude that the Federal Government is  giving NNPC preference in the area of allocation of forex in the country.

    Ngbamadu said: ‘’ The fuel situation in the past few weeks is worrisome, as Nigerians were made to queque in the filling stations, trek for hours under the sun,  sleep in the heat, run businesses without being able to access light through their generators, among others. But importation of fuel has been left to only the NNPC by marketers under the guise that they are denied forex allocation by CBN.’’

    He said the more the importation of fuel, the higher the supply of the product and its usage for improved economic activities in the country.

    Still on fuel, Ngbamadu said NNPC boasts of enough supplies in the country, despite the challenges in the micro economy.

    He said NNPC would not have increased fuel supply from the normal 30 million litres per day to 50million litres and even 80million litres during the heat of fuel scarcity, if it does not have enough fuel reserve.

    He said NNPC had a meeting with tanker’ drivers and other members in the supply fuel chain days ago in order to ensure seamless distribution of the product in the country.

    He said the NNPC’s Group Managing Director, Dr Maikanti Baru, has directed all the depots that were owned by NNPC, to store fuel for onward distribution to its outlets and other marketers across the country, in order to ease fuel supplies.

    He said the proposed strike action by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) gave more impetus to the scarcity, stressing that the scarcity would have subsided since.

    Marketers, he said, started the scarcity, by issuing a statement that they would embark on strike, following the allegations that the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) are short changing them by selling fuel at N142 per litre to them, as against N133.88 per litre, the price in which they got fuel from NNPC.

  • Cause of petrol crisis, by marketers

    Cause of petrol crisis, by marketers

    •IPMAN: modular refinery is solution

    Many reasons have been adduced for the lingering fuel crisis. There have been blames and counter-blames between the Federal Government and marketers. But the parties are resuming their talks today to resolve the problem,
    AUGUSTINE EHIKIOYA reports

    Marketers yesterday gave reasons for the petrol crisis that marred the Chrismas celebrations across the country.

    Also yesterday, the Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria (IPMAN), said the major solution to the petrol crisis is the building of modular refineries.

    It was at a meeting of all stakeholders convened at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. It was chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari.

    Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ibe Kachikwu, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director Maikanti Baru and marketers attended.

    A committee, raised at yesterday’s meeting and chaired by the minister of state, will meet today to fine-tune the decisions.

    Chairman of the Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN) Mr. Dapo Abiodun, said the meeting was to find out what went wrong and to proffer solution.

    “A lot of issues were raised and a committee was constituted that will meet tomorrow (today)  under the chairmanship of the Minister of State for Petroleum to further go into the nitty gritty and to ensure that these problems do not reoccur again,” he said

    He explained that the marketers at the meeting made their submissions known to government and emphasized that the scarcity was not a marketer-induced problem.

    Abiodun said: “There was no hoarding on the part of any marketer. Marketers are your brothers, they are Nigerian citizens, they are businessmen, no marketer makes money from hoarding petroleum products, our business is to take petrol and sell.

    “We explained that the problem that you saw is not willful on the part of anyone, either NNPC or marketers. The situation from our point of view is that from January to December, the price of crude remained relatively stable, following the hurricane Katrina in the month of September/October, crude prices went up and marketers lost the ability to import and sell at N145 per liter.

    “Since the price of crude is directly proportional to refined product, we could not import petrol and sell at N145 any more. And this business is a partnership between marketers and the NNPC. Marketers bring in a certain volume and NNPC also brings in a certain volume.

    “In the past, marketers bring in about 60 per cent while the NNPC brings about 35 to 40 per cent. But, by October, marketers completely stopped importing because there was no more subsidy. So, we can’t sell for profit so we had to stop importing.

    “So, the burden of importing 100 percent then fell on the NNPC. So you can imagine a situation where NNPC was importing in part, and marketers were importing in part and then suddenly NNPC begins to import 100 per cent .

    “Coupled with the fact that in the months we called the ‘ember months’ from October to December, the consumption of petrol is highest in the country. So, you now have what we called a double warning. NNPC is suddenly finding it difficult importing what they probably didn’t expect in terms of volume and the fact that Nigerians themselves are consuming more volume than they will normally consume in the earlier months.

    “Coupled with the fact that the countries that are surrounding us as a nation are all selling fuel at more than $1 per liter. $1 today is about N360. If you go to Cotonou, Ghana, Niger, so, it is not unlikely that some of our petrol is finding itself across to these countries.

    “All these are issues we believe amounted to what we saw in December. But thankfully, the NNPC rose to the occasion, they stepped up import, stepped up supplies that situation has since normalised.

    “Today’s (yesterday) meeting is to ensure that this does not happen again and this we are going to continue tomorrow in the committee that was set up under the chairmanship of the minister of state for petroleum to ensure that we find a long-lasting and enduring solutions to this problem so that Nigerians will not have to go through this situation again.

    Asked if the issue of subsidy was discussed at the meeting, he said “Well, like I told you, there is no subsidy at the moment. The government in its wisdom has decided that the N145 cap will remain because of what they consider will be consequences on Nigerians. This is a government of the people and they believe Nigerians should not be made to buy fuel for more than N145.

    “So, if that is to remain, then we have to find other ways to manage the situation so that we will continue to sell fuel at N145. As far as we are concern, there is no subsidy in the budget, as far as we are concern, marketers cannot import and sell at N145. So, the government has to find a way and ensure that marketers themselves importing alongside NNPC and still sell at N145.

    “So, when we meet with the minister tomorrow, we will find solution to see how that can be sustained.

    The National President of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Okoronkwo, said: “We are glad with the promise of the Chief of Staff at the meeting. With what we have heard today from the meeting, Nigerians should go home and be glad because the issues of constant fuel supply has been resolved.

    “The issue apparently, by tomorrow (today) will be resolved as a committee will be set up to ensure that the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), the IPMAN and all those that are supposed to be bringing in the products will contribute.

    “This will solve this problem once and for all. They have also assured that the refineries are coming on stream to the installed capacity. This is a cherry news,” he said.

    IPMAN’s Board of Trustees Chairman Aminu Abdulkadir said: “On subsidy, I think there is a meeting that is coming up tomorrow (today) at the minister’s office. I think full disclosure will be made on plans and ways of augmenting marketers’ shortfall so that marketers can come back to business.

    “Because if marketers are in the business, the NNPC will be augmented. Because what has happened today is that because the NNPC was left alone and it will not be easy for them to manage all the depots, the trucks, the stations.

    “So, its a business for all. Before this time, the NNPC was doing 60 and marketers were doing 40 per cent. In fact there was a time NNPC was doing 40 and marketers  60 percent. But today, marketers is zero,” he added.

    Kachikwu said: “The whole idea was to do a centric analysis of what really went wrong. Like you know, for over two years, we have been out of this petroleum, it’s been working well. The NNPC has been managing it properly, and suddenly, there was this gap.

    “So, they wanted us to put heads together to find out what went wrong; it’s not a fault-finding meeting; how do we take corrective measures to avoid that and what are the things that are creating the difficulties in the system.

    “Because fuel scarcity has been ever lingering. It is a 30/40-year-old thing and I think it is to the credit of Mr. President and his government over the last two years that we haven’t had any of this through his policy that he has enunciated.

    “So, that was the objective of today’s meeting. Everybody gave ideas, everybody was collaboratively finding solutions,” he said

    According to him, another meeting will be held with the oil marketers today  in his office.

    He said: “The GMD started by presenting what the scenario was. At least for now, it has taken away the fuel queues that you see. Then dig into the long term solutions and everybody contributed.

    “We set up a committee which I will head, the members included, the GMD, most of the parastatals in the Ministry, DAPMAN, IPMAN, MOMAN, labour unions, and we are to meet in my office tomorrow and dig deeper into this thing and find a long term solution.

    “This is a major concern that Nigerians should not be made to suffer; that Nigerians do not get through this kind of things they went through last December. We want to find lasting solution and that is what the committee will come out with in the resolutions tomorrow.

    On whether the erring oil marketers will be sanctioned, he said: “The thing is, even Nigerians who have suffered will want to be sure that we find a lasting solution and find evidential basis upon which to punish people. This is a democratic government.

    Asked if the government got all the evidence it needed with what Nigerians went through, he said: “I don’t have one yet. If you have one, I will like to have it.”

    When reminded that the President labelled some people as blackmailers in his New Year speech, he said: “I feel your pain, we share in those pains. But, we are going to find lasting solution. They are people who are culprits they will be identified. In fact, the chief of staff instructed that specific names should be put on the table, those who have gone against the rule, done certain things that are against the book should be punished.

    “But, the greatest difficulty in Nigeria is that people make allegations, when you then ask for evidence, even one, everybody now goes back into the safety nets. You cannot prosecute, except you have evidence, I’m 30 years old as a lawyer. So, we will need to find that evidence, we will definitely punish those who did things that were wrong.

    “But more fundamental and more importantly is that we want to find lasting solutions and we all want to work more collaboratively.”

    “We are going to sit down and find lasting solution. Let’s face it we have had this lasting solution for two years,” he stated.

    Modular refineries‘ll end fuel scarcity, says IPMAN

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) yesterday urged the Federal Government to invest more in modular refineries as a way to end fuel scarcity.

    Alhaji Debo Ahmed, the Chairman, South-west zone of IPMAN, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo two days ago in Lagos, confirmed that 10 modular refineries were at advanced stages of development in the Niger Delta.

    The 10 modular refineries are located in five out of the nine states in the Niger Delta.

    The states include: Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Imo.

    Osinbajo said two of the refineries, Amakpe Refinery (Akwa Ibom), and OPAC Refinery (Delta State), have had their mini-refinery modules already fabricated, assembled and containerised overseas and ready for shipment to Nigeria for installation.

    The total proposed refining capacities of the 10 licensed refineries stands at 300,000 barrels.

    Ahmed said the modular refineries could help address any shortfall in fuel supply, pending when additional refineries would be built.

    He said: “It will also boost the country’s revenue generation and address frequent fuel capacity experienced during the Yuletide seasons.

    “Our expectation in 2018 is for the government to invest more on modular refineries to be able to have more petrol locally to address scarcity.’’

    Ahmed said that government performed creditably well in the downstream sector last year, adding that it should crown it by building more modular refineries.

    According to him, a modular refinery is cheaper to build and it can move from one place to another.

    “A modular refinery is capable of refining between 10,000 and 35,000 barrels of crude oil per day,’’ he noted.

    He also urged the government to provide incentives that would attract investors to the oil and gas sector.

  • Senate blames fuel crisis on NNPC, marketers

    Senate blames fuel crisis on NNPC, marketers

    The Senate Committee on Petroleum Downstream has blamed the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and marketers over short supply of the petroleum products in the country.

    The Committee Chairman, Senator Kabiru Marafa, spoke yesterday in Gusau during an oversight assignment in the state on fuel situation in the country.

    Marafa, who was accompanied by a member of the committee, Senator Abdullahi Danbaba, said the inspection was part of the assignment given to the committee by Senate President Bukola Saraki.

    “I have directed all members of this committee to go back to their constituencies to investigate the problem at the grassroots so that we take approximate measures to address the scarcity.

    “We visited NNPC zonal depot Gusau to find out the quantity of fuel supply to the depot and we noticed short supply of the commodity.

    “We are going to present our findings to the senate. It is very disturbing to see the suffering faced by people due to fuel scarcity in the country.

    “We question the NNPC over this issue because the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Maikanti Baru said they had doubled the quantity of daily supply of the product, but it is not available to the public.

    “Another unfortunate thing is the attitude of our filling stations owners who sell this commodity to the public; they are involved in one or two malpractices.

    ”In fact out of the filling stations we visited only two have complied with the government directives in this regard,” he said.

    Marafa commended the state Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) field office in ensuring compliance at the filling stations.

    The senator urged the DPR to sanction filling stations involved in hoarding and selling above approved government price of N145 per litre.

  • Reps summon three fuel marketers in Ondo for ‘overpricing’

    Reps summon three fuel marketers in Ondo for ‘overpricing’

    The House of Representatives has summoned three fuel marketers in Ondo State for allegedly selling petroleum above the official price.

    Chairman of the House Committee of Petroleum Resources Chief Joseph Akinlaja spoke yesterday after monitoring sale of the products in Akure, the capital, and its environs.

    Akinlaja, who is the former secretary-general of the National Union of Petroleum Employees Association of Nigeria (NUPENG), was on the tour to see the effect of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), or petrol, scarcity in Nigeria.

    The lawmaker regretted the attitude of some Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) members, who he said sold fuel above the official price, thus causing hardship.

    According to him, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Pipeline Products and Marketing Company (PPMC) have assured that there will be abundant supply  for the Yuletide celebration.

    Akinlaja, who is representing Ondo East/Ondo West , said House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara implored members to suspend their recess to resolve the fuel scarcity logjam.

    The monitoring team met a long queue at Bovas filling station, which was selling at N143 per litre, while few people at Samfunk, Lao, Damarofek filling stations sold at N220 per litre.

    But they displayed official pump price of N145.

    The committee chairman ordered the filling stations to sell petrol at N145 per litre to customers, who filled up the stations following the mandatory order by a special task force on the product’s scarcity.

    The lawmaker said the monitoring was aimed at having first-hand knowledge of the situation, saying: “When NNPC will be telling me there is fuel in abundance, I will ask: why the queue?”

    He wondered why Bovas sold petrol at N143 per litre and another filling station that was less than N500 metres away sold at N220.

    The Ondo State-born Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker frowned at the disparity and the excuses by independent marketers.

    He said: “I am going to summon them. By this medium, I am summoning the owner of Samfunk Petroleum and Damarofek to Abuja on Wednesday to state why they should be selling petrol at N220 per litre.

    “If they don’t come, the law will take its course. We are also asking Bayduck to report in Abuja on Wednesday at the House of Representatives with documents on the source and why it was selling above the official pump price.”

    Akinlaja said the sources where the filling stations got their product would also be summoned to know if they were selling at prices higher than N133.28.

    He added that “the country must be sanitised, as we are the enemies of ourselves”.

  • NNPC indicts marketers for failure to import fuel

    NNPC indicts marketers for failure to import fuel

    The blame game over the crippling fuel situation continued yesterday.

    On Tuesday, the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA) blamed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the shortage, claiming that its members’ “depots are empty” despite the NNPC’s claim that it had excess products to supply.

    Yesterday, the NNPC described the DAPPMA’s statement as “unfortunate”.

    In a statement, the oil giant said: “The NNPC wishes to affirm that it has supplied appreciable volume to DAPPMA, Major Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) to rid the challenges currently being experienced in the supply and distribution of petroleum products in the country.

    “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 N26.7billion as at December 21, 2017, has the audacity to indict NNPC unjustifiably.”

    It added that the statement by DAPPMA that the problem in the supply of products was due to the inability of the Direct Sale Direct Purchase (DSDP) partners of NNPC to deliver on their business obligations is unfounded and self-indicting as many of DAPPMA members patronise DSDP international counterparts as the corporation.

    “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 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 1.2billion 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.”

    DAPPMA declined to react to the NNPC’s indictment.

    Its Executive Secretary Olufemi Adewole told our reporter last night: “We will respond at the appropriate time.”

  • Agency accuses marketers of diverting 129,000 litres of fuel

    Agency accuses marketers of diverting 129,000 litres of fuel

    The Head Public Affairs Unit of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr. Mohammed Saidu, yesterday accused petroleum marketers of diverting 129,000 litres of petrol from Abuja.

    Saidu, who revealed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) after monitoring the stations, added that some of the erring filling stations had been given a total fine of more than N30.5 million.

    According to him, more intelligence units are liaising with the public to get information for on-the-spot checks since the scarcity began.

    Saidu said the products were being diverted without the knowledge of security agents who have no mechanism to check the quantity of fuel offloaded at filling stations.

    He said: “We now have an intelligence measure that ensures that even if one litre of petrol is diverted, the station is penalised. We have a way of tracing it.

    “Through this means, we were able to get to Bulasawa, that remote area behind the National Assembly, and they diverted 13,000 litres.

    “They have been issued a letter to pay N3.575 million to the TSA within one week before they will continue their business.

    “Whatever products that were there, we allowed them to sell them off on the spot so we don’t compound the issue of scarcity.

    “We also got to Oando on Olusegun Obasanjo Way, they also diverted 11,000 litres, which means out of the three compartments of the 33,000 that was consigned to them, they took away one compartment.

    “They have been issued a letter to pay about N12 million into the TSA.

    “We got another station that diverted 15,000 litres and they have been written to pay N15 million into the TSA.

    “We got to one station – Toniset, along the Zuba Junction. They applied for formal renovation, they are doing renovation and we were surprised they were given two full trucks without any place to dispense the product.

    “We had to trace the two trucks to PPMC to ask how they allocated products to a station that was under construction.”

    He further explained that the truck diverted from Bulasawa, was traced to one of its stations on Kaduna Road.

    “The remaining 33,000 litres, as far as we are concerned, was not allocated to that station, so it has to pay the N3.5 million fine.

    “The essence of making it N275 per litre is because they lifted the products at the depot at about N133 per litre, and so we double it, meaning, in addition to losing the product indirectly to the government, you are also charged additionally. This is to serve as a deterrent, and many marketers are getting jittery.

    “If the PPMC consign products to only stations that have physical presence, we are sure the scarcity will end,” he said.

    He said the department had visited about 360 stations in Abuja, out of which 157 were found to be selling.

    “Those few that we found that had products that were not selling, we stationed our staff there to make sure they sell, and they are about 20 stations,” Saidu said.

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had earlier blamed the current petroleum scarcity in the country on marketers of the product.

    The Group Managing Director of the company, Dr Maikanti Baru, had repeatedly assured Nigerians that the queues would disappear by Saturday as it had a 25-day sufficiency.

  • Marketers warned against short-changing customers

    Fuel marketers should desist from any act capable of short-changing their customers, else they lose them (customers), former Managing Director, Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Mr. Sam Okeke, has said.

    The development, he said, became necessary in view of the untoward practices in recent times among owners and operators of fuel stations in the country.

    Speaking at the opening of a mega station built by Emadeb Energy Services Limited in Lagos, Okeke said short-changing motorists and other petroleum products’ users affected operators in the downstream sub-secto. He urged operators, who engage in such criminal activities, to stop or lose their market to other competitors in the sector.

    According to him, marketers do not have to be greedy before they survive in the sector, emphasising that quality service is key to sustaining customers’ confidence.

    Okeke said:“No operator can survive through exploitation of unsuspecting customers in the sector, especially at the retail end of the market. By exploitation of customers, I’m talking about the issue of short-changing the customers by owners of fuel retail outlets across the country.”

    He noted that Federal Government-owned agencies such as Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), PPMC and others, have frowned at the issue of short-changing people by marketers in recent times.

    The DPR, Okeke said, has clamped down on retail outlets that engaged in such unwholesome practices to serve as deterrents to others.

    “During my tenure as PPMC’s Managing Director, I laid emphasis on quality of the services provided by operators in the downstream sector. I spoke about quality service delivery a lot and through the advocacy programme initiated by the PPMC, we were able to know operators, who allow ethical standards to guide their operations. I’m, therefore, not surprised to see the landmark achievements recorded by Emadeb Energy Services Limited, especially in the area of diversifying to retail business,” he added.

    Okeke advised downstream operators, especially owners of retail outlets to stand out by not seeking outrageous margins, which according to him, will ultimately destroy their businesses.

    He said a market-dictated margin should be the focus of marketers, if they want to succeed in the market.

    The sub-sector has witnessed several cases of sharp, especially manipulation of fuel pumps by marketers. Motorists have complained about the ways they were being defrauded by marketers, who use measurements that have been tampered with to sell fuel to them.

    Former President, Nigerian Association of Energy Economics (NAEE), Prof Wunmi Iledare, had called for proper calibration and adjustment of pump prices to the pricing template of the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), and market dictated margin.

  • Marketers defy govt’s directives, sell diesel at N225

    Marketers are selling automotive gas oil (AGO), also known as diesel, at between N210 and N225 per litre across the country, months after the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) crashed the price by 42 per cent, from an all-time high of N300 per litre in January 2017 to N160 per litre in July, The Nation has learnt.

    Also, ex-depot prices of diesel, which dropped to between N135 and N155 per litre in July, when the NNPC cut the price of the product, have risen considerably.

    It was gathered that many outlets owned by the independent and major marketers have adjusted their pump price to between N210 and N225 per litre. However, a few outlets, including those owned by the NNPC, are selling diesel below N200 per litre.

    A visit to some filling stations in Egbeda, Ikeja, Ikorodu and other areas within the Lagos metropolis  showed that the price of diesel has shot up to over N200 per litre from N160; the price it was reduced to in July, in line with its strategic intervention programme of easing the burden of high cost of the product on consumers.

    Marketers, who spoke to The Nation, said the rise in the price of diesel was not surprising as the price of the product has been deregulated over the years. So, the price is determined by market forces of demand and supply, they said, adding that such developments are expected in a deregulated market.

    NNPC  spokesman Mr. Ndu Ughamadu attributed the increase to deregulation of that segment of the downstream sub-sector years back.

    Ughamadu told The Nation on phone that the deregulation resulted in the differential prices of petrol, diesel and kerosene, adding that the idea has paved way for what he described as free entry and free exit market regime in the sector.

    He said the NNPC was not suprised by the turn of events in the sector in view of the decision by the Federal Government to deregulate the industry.

    Ughamadu said: “NNPC was definitive in its statement that the market is influenced by the forces of supply and demand, and that the intervention was meant to ease the burdens of high cost of diesel on the consumers. The intervention is subject to the dynamics of demand and supply. When the demand for diesel is high, the price of the product will also be high. Conversely, when the demand is low, the price will also be low.”

    The Federal Government in June 2016, increased fuel prices across boards. To reduce the burdens on the users, the NNPC strategically intervened by reducing the price of diesel from N300 per litre to N160 per litre in July through flooding the market with the product.

    Part of the interventions include improving supply of diesel, remodeling of the product distribution to address sufficiency issue, and working hard with relevant stakeholders to improve distribution from refinery depots, by implementing a robust loading programme.

    The NNPC also partnered stakeholders such as the major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) and the Independent Petroleum Marketers to improve fuel supply.

    Other efforts included the resuscitation of critical pipelines and depots in places such as Atlas Cove-Mosinmi, Port Harcourt Refinery, Kaduna Refinery, and the ongoing plans to revamp and commission other major pipelines across the country.

  • PPMC urges marketers to import fuel

    Oil marketers should complement the Federal Government’s efforts at improving supply of petroleum products in the country, the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Managing Director, Alhaji Umar Ajiya, has said.

    He said the development would help in easing fuel supply and improve economic activities in the country.

    Speaking at the opening of a mega retail outlet built by Emadeb Energy Services Limited in Lagos, he said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) should not be the sole importer of fuel, if the country wants to get over the fuel scarcity and its attendant long queqe.

    He urged members of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association (IPMAN) and Major Oil Marketers Association (MOMAN) to improve importation and supply of fuel across the country.

    He said Emadeb has diversified its operation, by operating fuel depot and building retail outlets, advising other marketers to follow do so.

    The  Group Managing Director, Emadeb Energy Services Limited, Mr Adebowale Olujimi said the firm saw a vacuum in the downstream sub-sector and quickly filled it by building mega stations to supply fuel to motorists and other users.

  • Agitation for professionalism deepens as NIMN sets to license marketers

    Agitation for professionalism deepens as NIMN sets to license marketers

    To distinguish those who have demonstrated experience, proficiency, knowledge and exposure to marketing profession for effective practice, Nigeria Institute of Marketing NIMN, is now fully positioned and determined to enforce the provision of the NIMN Act, which mandates marketing professionals and marketing related organisations in Nigeria to obtain practice license from the institution.

    The license, which provides an inclusive environment for licensing marketing professionals from varied backgrounds, thereby leveraging the multidisciplinary  nature of the licensing field based on marketing knowledge standards. The president of the institute Mr Tony Agenmonmen made this known recently in Lagos where he clearly declared that there are thousands of marketing professionals in Nigeria who are not registered with NIMN, adding that by the position of the law, they are clearly in violation of the NIMN Act No 25 of 2003. He noted that the responsibility for compliance rests on both the individuals and the companies that employ them.

    According to him, “Section 20(2) of the Act states: If on or after the coming into force of this Act, any person who is not a member of the institute practices or holds himself out to practice as a marketer for, or in expectation of reward or takes or uses any name, title, addition or description, implying that he is in practice as a marketer, he commits and offence.” In view of its determination to encourage such erring members to comply with the provision of the law, NIMN has created a window of opportunity for a special Fast Tracked Executive membership programme. This programme covers all categories of membership, including associate, full member and fellow.

    Agenmonmen declared that interested professionals can register for the fast tracked programme through its online portal. He also added that those who may not be able to meet the requirement for the fast tracked executive membership will need to follow the examination route. Interested candidates have between September to December 2017 to undertake the programme.

    The NIMN president noted that this development is in line with the institution’s preference for non-use of force in driving compliance. “Our approach to compliance is to avoid the use of force, except this is a very last resort. We are convinced that it is in the collective interest of all true marketing professionals and marketing organisations to support the effort to ensure that only true and qualified marketers, practice marketing,” Agenmonmen said.

    At the expiration of the grace period, the NIMN president noted that a comprehensive register of marketing practitioners, including organisations that have registered and therefore are in compliance will be published. “Practitioners and organisations not in the register will be seen as unable or unwilling to comply with the provisions of the law and will be handled in accordance with the provisions of the Act accordingly.

    “By January 2018, it will be compulsory for all companies recruiting into their marketing departments to indicate membership of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria as a mandatory requirement in addition to other qualification for employment,” Agenmonmen said.

    Still on the issue of membership, NIMN is also reaching out to about nine thousands of its over 10 000 members who have not been financially active, and whose membership of the institution have technically lapsed. This class of members has now been given up to December 2017 to regularise their membership by paying their accumulated subscription up to 2017. “If they fail to do so, their names will not be in the register and the provision of the Act will also apply,” Agenmonmen said.