The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has threatened to stop its operations across the country.
Beyond Boders learned that this is due to the high price of petrol being sold to its members by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
On Thursday, IPMAN revealed that Dangote Refinery sells petrol to NNPC at N898 per litre. However, NNPC sells the same petrol to independent marketers for N1,010 per litre in Lagos.
IPMAN, which manages over 70% of filling stations in Nigeria, is not happy with this price difference and is demanding a refund for previous payments.
If the issue is not resolved soon, there could be more petrol scarcity and longer queues at fuel stations nationwide.
The National Publicity Secretary of IPMAN, Chinedu Ukadike, warned that the association might stop working if NNPC does not respond quickly.
He also mentioned that NNPC has been holding marketers’ funds for about three months.
IPMAN’s national president, Abubakar Maigandi, explained that the price of petrol being sold by NNPC is much higher than what NNPC itself buys from the Dangote Refinery. He mentioned that in Lagos, petrol is being sold to marketers at N1,010 per litre, and even higher in other cities like Calabar and Port Harcourt.
IPMAN claims that NNPC owes its members up to N15 billion and that independent marketers want to buy petrol directly from the Dangote Refinery at a lower price.
In Abuja, NNPC recently increased the price of petrol from N897 to N1,030 per litre, and in Lagos, from N868 to N998. This second price hike in a month has made many Nigerians upset. The Nigeria Labour Congress and other groups are calling for the price to be reduced immediately.
When asked if NNPC had contacted IPMAN to resolve the issue, Ukadike said, “No changes or feedback at all. NNPC hasn’t responded to us. They haven’t returned our money. We are still observing what the situation would turn to since they haven’t reached out to us, or probably we would have to withdraw our services if the issue is not resolved.”
Meanwhile, IPMAN is still trying to arrange direct purchases from the Dangote Refinery. Ukadike noted that if independent marketers are allowed to buy petrol directly from Dangote, they could sell it for N970 per litre, which is lower than NNPC’s price.
Attempts to get comments from NNPC and Dangote Refinery officials were unsuccessful at the time of this report.
In contrast, the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) said they are not facing the same problems as IPMAN. MEMAN explained that they have large storage tanks, which allows them to manage price changes better and avoid being owed by NNPC.
