The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has stated that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is owing it “almost N15 billion.”
“Roughly now, they are owing us almost getting to N15bn,” said IPMAN’s National President, Abubakar Garima, during Thursday’s edition of Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
“Our money has been with the NNPCL for almost three months now. Either they sell for us at the same rate they are getting the product from Dangote Refinery or refund us so we can buy directly from Dangote Refinery,” Garima added.
He explained, “We (IPMAN) have not loaded a single truck since the NNPCL increased its pump price.
“Our money is already with the NNPCL. It has refused to give us the product we paid for and is asking us to complete the difference,” IPMAN lamented.
These comments came after the NNPCL adjusted fuel prices at its retail outlets in Lagos and Abuja.
In Lagos, NNPCL outlets raised the price of a litre of petrol to ₦998, an increase of ₦150 from the previous ₦855.
Meanwhile, in Abuja, the price per litre rose to ₦1,030 from ₦897. Some stations in Lagos reportedly sold the product for as much as ₦1,050.
According to IPMAN, this is a result of the full deregulation of the sector.
“Well, we know now that we cannot call it an increase but rather we can call the removal of subsidy deregulation. Now, deregulation has started taking place fully,” Garima said.
Despite President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of the end of the fuel subsidy regime, fuel queues remain a common sight in Nigeria.
Garima mentioned that the price adjustment would lead to better product availability.
“The change that Nigerians are going to expect now: one, we are expecting availability since there is no subsidy,” he said.
“The NNPC is not the sole importer. Other marketers too will participate. It is the same thing in buying the product. Other marketers will buy products directly from Dangote [Refinery]. It is not only NNPC.”
