Petroleum marketers have blamed the current scarcity of petroleum products on alleged shady deals between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMA), and the regulatory agency, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The marketers stated that the agreements between the NNPC, the tank farm owners, and the NMDPRA were detrimental to the product’s availability and seamless delivery to retail outlets.
In light of this, downstream companies have urged President Bola Tinubu to take immediate action on the problem.
Marketers who spoke on the condition of anonymity disclosed that NNPCL, as the exclusive importer of the items, has now placed Independent Marketers, who hold the country’s largest retail outlets, at the mercy of the DAPPMA (the tank farm owners).
NNPCL, the only importer, provides petrol to private depot owners operating under the auspices of DAPPMA at a depot price of N556.5 per litre.
Investigations, however, found that the tank farm owners sell to marketers for N700 to N740.00, leaving them with little or no profit to sell at stations.
One of the marketers, who requested anonymity, said:
“What we used to have in the past was an arrangement where the NNPCL gave allocations meant for Independent marketers to the private depot owners to sell to marketers with a benchmark, a reasonable price.
“Now, the independent marketers have no allocation, they are at the mercy of the tank farm owners. A situation where there is no ex-depot price won’t augur well for the industry. Private depot owners now sell at N800 to those of us who will sell at retail outlets to ordinary Nigerians.
“We are the ones Nigerians are accusing of hoarding products and selling at exorbitant prices. Instead of the midstream regulatory agency doing its job by beaming its searchlight on the activities of the tank farm owners, by insisting on the ex-depot price they are using the marketers as scapegoats.
“There is a cabal in the sector creating problems for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He must show the determined will to break their rank. How many stations do tank farm owners have.? But they are making huge profits to the detriment of Nigerians.”
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cc: Daily Post Ng
