The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has commenced the direct supply of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, to independent oil marketers in order to effectively clear the fuel queues still prevalent in some parts of the country.
It was gathered on Monday, January 15, 2018, that the members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria IPMAN had started receiving products directly from the NNPC for onward distribution to motorists and other fuel users.
Prior to this development, IPMAN members were getting PMS from major oil marketers and depot owners, a situation the independent oil dealers kicked against, as they argued that the association had the highest number of filling stations across the country.
The National Vice President, IPMAN, Abubakar Maigandi, told correspondents that the recent fuel queues in the country became largely pronounced because most independent marketers had no product to dispense despite having widespread outlets.
He stated that fuel queues, particularly in the northern part of the country, would soon fizzle out, as the NNPC had commenced the direct supply of products to IPMAN members Friday, January 12, 2018.
Maigandi said, “The NNPC has imported products and marketers have started loading. In the past, (NNPC) gave only major marketers and the NNPC retail outlets. But now, they have started giving independent petroleum marketers our share. “So, definitely, I know there will be an improvement in the next week because our trucks started loading between Friday and today (Monday), so, when the products they load get to the northern part of the country, there will be a noticeable improvement.”
He added, “Instead of going to the private depot owners and buying at a higher cost, independent marketers now get supply directly from the NNPC. The problem we had before was that the NNPC was allocating it products to DAPPMA (Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association) and MOMAN (Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria) and to their (NNPC) retail outlets.
“So, independent marketers would get products from DAPPMA and MOMAN; and when we go to them, they would give us at higher rates, which was the situation in some of their depots up till this moment. But the NNPC has started giving direct allocation to independent petroleum marketers at the same rate that it gives to both MOMAN and DAPPMA now,” he noted that giving the latest development, the fuel queues in parts of Niger and Kaduna states as well as in Abuja and other northern states would disappear within a few days.
