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Petrol Pump Price May Drop As Dangote, Oil Marketers Sign Deal

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The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has secured an agreement with Dangote Petroleum Refinery to lift products directly.

This, according to the association, will ensure the availability of petroleum to Nigerians at a cheaper rate.

IPMAN’s National President, Abubakar Garima, made this announcement at a press briefing on Monday in Abuja, following a meeting of the National Working Committee of the association.

He explained that the Dangote refinery had agreed to allow IPMAN to lift PMS, AGO, and DPK directly for onward supply to IPMAN depots and retail outlets. This new arrangement with the Dangote refinery will ensure a steady and ceaseless supply of PMS products across Nigeria at an affordable rate.

He said, “Following our recent meeting with Alhaji Aliko Dangote and members of his top management staff in Lagos, we are happy to state the following; Dangote Refinery has obliged IPMAN to lift PMS, AGO, and DPK directly for onward supply to IPMAN depots and retail outlets. That this new arrangement with the Dangote refinery will ensure a steady and ceaseless supply of PMS products all over Nigeria, at an affordable rate for Nigerians also.”

On October 29, the founder of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, stated that the refinery held over 500 million litres of petrol, but added that oil marketers were not purchasing his product.

In response, IPMAN said its members had been unable to load petrol from the Dangote refinery for days. Garima noted that the association had paid N40bn to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited but still could not source the product. However, the refinery said it had not received any payment from IPMAN for refined petroleum products.

Speaking further at the briefing, Garima urged IPMAN members to support Dangote Refinery, highlighting the backward integration benefits and the positive impacts on Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.

Regarding pricing, Garima expressed confidence that negotiations with Dangote would result in lower rates.

“All IPMAN members should fully support the Dangote refinery, as it’s the ideal thing to do considering the monumental benefits of backward integration and the medium to long-term impact it will have on the foreign exchange markets in Nigeria.

“IPMAN members nationwide should rely on the Dangote refinery and Nigerian refineries for their white products, as this will translate into ensuring more job opportunities in Nigeria, as well as signify total support for President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” he added.

Energy expert Kelvin Emmanuel commented that the new agreement would eliminate financing and margin costs incurred by the NNPCL.

He said, “What is cheery about this news is that NNPC’s letter of credit as financing cost ($28 per metric tonne) that is passed to IPMAN — controlling 30,000 retail stations and their margin ($26.48 per metric tonne) will be removed.”

The IPMAN president also mentioned that the association is preparing for a smooth transition to nationwide CNG refill stations, as it is currently in negotiations with the presidential CNG initiative.

“On CNG, I would also like to call on all our members at IPMAN to begin to put all types of machinery in place for a successful transition of the Federal Government’s plans to initiate CNG refill stations in all our outlets. Truly, there is no doubt that CNG has the potential to rejuvenate our economy for a better life for Nigerians, and IPMAN is ready to give her all to support the CNG initiative.

“IPMAN is also calling for a partnership with the Federal Government of Nigeria to hasten the quick success of the CNG initiative for Nigeria. We believe that for the CNG initiative to succeed, there must be a credible partnership between IPMAN and the PCNGI, without which Nigerians would not have ready and near access to CNG outlets.”

This partnership between Dangote and IPMAN is expected to increase efficiency, affordability, and economic growth for Nigeria’s petroleum industry. This move is expected to eliminate middlemen, reduce costs, and ensure a steady supply.

Earlier this year, the Dangote Refinery announced that it would supply fuel to about 150,000 retail outlets operated by oil marketers.

In his remarks, the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the association, Aminu Abdukadir, stated that IPMAN must remain committed to providing the retail stations and funds necessary to ensure that products are delivered to consumers.

“The business of making money without doing anything is over with the deregulation of the sector. For IPMAN to survive, it must provide the filling stations, the money, and the trucks, to provide this commodity to motorists,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria, Clement Isong, explained that the final landing price is determined by several key factors, including the exchange rate, logistics efficiency, and cost negotiating power based on volume purchased.

Isong said, “If you read our bulletin, there is not one landing price for the whole country. What we are saying is to give an idea of the landing price—if you land 38,000 metric tonnes into ASBM in Apapa, this is the landing price. That’s what we are saying. If you land 100,000 MT or 80,000 MT into Pinnacle, the landing price will be lower. But there are only two places where the landing price will be lower due to economies of scale. If you land in the majority of the country, the depots and facilities take less. So, if you land it into another place in Lagos, the landing price will be higher. It won’t be N971 per litre. It can be as close to N1,000.

“So, the landing price is a function of how much you got your exchange rate, logistics, and your negotiating power based on the volume bought. Some marketers are landing below N917. But the vast majority of people who don’t enjoy the benefits of economies of scale will land at significantly above that. What this teaches is that it is a free and open market. It’s how you buy that you sell. There is no one price. It is a function of the draft of the vessels that you land the product. It’s a function of how much product was bought. It’s a function of what rate of exchange was used to buy products. The exchange rate that we have used is the central bank rate. So, if you have the central bank rate, then you will not land at that price, but if you go to the black market, the price will be higher.

“The law says that we can only keep 30 days of stock in our depots. So, the fact that the spot market has gone up means nothing because you are selling based on the price of the average cost in your tank. The fact that the price has gone down to N971, it doesn’t matter because we are selling based on the average cost in your tank. How much did you buy and the average cost of everything in the tank? It’s a market price. And the market price is a range. It moves, depending on how efficient you are. And I think for us, the most important thing is the exchange rate.”

BIG STORY

Music Band Boy Commits Suicide After Boss Tortured Him For Stealing “Sprayed Money” [VIDEO]

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A Lagos young guitarist identified as Lekan, has allegedly committed suicide after being tortured for stealing money from the leader of a music band group in Ogun State.

Lekan, who was pronounced dead by medical experts at a private hospital in Ifo Local Government Area of the state, was found lying lifeless inside his room after drinking an insecticide liquid, “sniper,” to get away from the trauma that trailed the allegations from his boss who was identified as Sam Omo-Oba.

It was learnt that the deceased was tortured and recorded alongside Ayo, another member of the band, for stealing the money realized from their performance at a Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) anniversary celebration where they entertained guests and worshippers.

The development has thrown the entire Oke-Aro community in Ifo Local Government into mourning, considering the circumstances surrounding the demise of the 26-year-old guitarist who lived in their community but operated often in Lagos.

On Wednesday, a close member of the family told our correspondent that Lekan was pronounced dead by medical experts on Monday, less than 24 hours after they left the church show on Sunday. The source, who identified himself as Kola, narrated that the family, even after seeing him lifeless still rushed him to hospital with a commercial motorcycle popularly called “Okada.”

“He was rushed to a private hospital to save him but the medical facility rejected the family request which prompted the move to another healthcare facility where the doctors pronounced him dead”.

Kola explained that the theft allegation, which was linked to the young artist’s demise, started after Sam Omo-Oba asked that members of his band who could not go home spend the night in his house.

“But they could not spend the night in his house because he was not allowed into the estate, so they decided to lodge at a hotel close to the community.

“While in the hotel, we heard that Sam and the band members drank and slept in the same room. In the morning, the band boss raised an alarm that Lekan and Ayo had stolen money inside his pocket, demanding they return it immediately”.

It was gathered that the deceased guitarist maintained the innocence of the crime he was being linked to during the torture. In the video making rounds online, Lekan was seen being allegedly tortured over the theft despite denying any link to the alleged crime perpetrated.

In the less than one-minute video, Lekan and Ayo were seen being questioned about who took the money and their responses attracted torture after the answers failed to meet expectations of the band leader.

In another video, a voice, suspected to be that of Sam Omo-Oba, was heard announcing that some notes had been discovered where the deceased and Ayo allegedly hid them.

Analyzing the videos, a resident of Oke-Aro who identified himself as Micheal told The Guild that the deceased was wrongly accused of theft, saying, “I know Lekan, rather than steal would prefer to work to earn his pay daily. And since our paths crossed, I have not earned that he stole from people”.

He added, “The torture and recording may have affected him psychologically that he considered suicide as the next option. I say this because, on his body, there were bruises on him which indicated that the torture was too much for him.

“I know him since he started playing drum under Kehinde Carlos and I have no record of theft linked to him. You can see it that the video showed the deceased insisting that he never took the money from his boss even when he was beaten to accept the allegations.

“The entire issue is sad and I can’t believe that Lekan is gone. I wish that this whole scenario could be reversed to avoid this tragedy. This is a young man with aspirations in the music industry. I know how he aspired to handle musical instruments for the big artists in the country. But now, all the dreams have been shattered”.

Efforts to get the Ogun Police Command spokesperson, SP Omolola Odutola, to confirm the sad development proved abortive.

 

Credit: The Guild

 

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BIG STORY

Doctor, Three Nurses Die In Same Hospital Within 72 Hours In Saki, Oyo State

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A doctor and three nurses have been reported dead in a hospital in Saki West Local Government Area of Oyo State within 72 hours.

According to Vanguard News, this has created panic among residents of the ancient town, particularly around the hospital.

The hospital has been identified as Almusharaf Hospital, Oke Sunah.

A resident of the area, Adekunle Lawal, told Vanguard News: “Three days ago, one nurse died and on Monday another nurse died and yesterday, the doctor and another nurse died.

“We are afraid because we don’t know what caused their deaths.

“The doctor is a quack doctor.

“Maybe all of them treated a patient who has a contagious disease, which, I think, was not well handled.

“It’s a very big hospital.

“They carry out minor surgery on patients and at times they invite doctors from elsewhere to join them.

“If it’s a contagious disease, how come that no patient died but the staff?

“People are also speculating that it could be food poisoning.

“Maybe one of them ate food and gave it to the others to eat.

“We don’t know.

“All these are mere assumptions until those responsible for monitoring these hospitals carry out an autopsy on the deceased.

“None of the patients died.

“It’s only the staff of the hospital.

“All of them have been buried.

“You know they are Muslims.

“Please, the Ministry of Health and other relevant agencies should step in.”

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BIG STORY

President Tinubu Determined To Eliminate Bandits, Terrorists — Nuhu Ribadu

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The National Security Adviser, “Nuhu Ribadu,” has warned that obstructing security under President “Bola Tinubu’s” administration will not be tolerated.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ribadu made this statement at the Comptroller General of Customs Conference in Abuja on Wednesday, emphasising the President’s determination to eliminate bandits, terrorists, and other security threats.

According to him, the government’s high-level strategies had led to the killing of hundreds of bandits daily, forcing many to flee to Chad.

“This prompted the Chadian president to declare war on them.”

“We will secure this country, we will fix it, we are not jokers,” he said.

“Ribadu” assured that the government was working tirelessly to achieve a secure environment, which is crucial for the country’s development.

He cited the improved security situation in the Niger Delta region and the significant increase in crude oil production, which had reached 1.8 million barrels per day.

“Many parts of our country today are living in peace. Go to the Niger Delta, things have changed,” he added.

The NSA urged Nigerians to be patient in the face of the current challenges, as the government’s policies were designed to sanitise the system and improve the economy.

He noted that the “Central Bank of Nigeria” was being reformed, adding that “Naira” would be stabilised.

“Ribadu” also commended the achievements of the “Nigeria Customs Service” and encouraged career officers to aspire to leadership positions, stressing that opportunities for growth were now available to them.

The NAN reports that the conference, which began on Tuesday, is scheduled to end on Friday.

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