Marketers reject blame for fuel scarcity, say NNPC fuel not in our depot

Fuel marketers under the aegis of Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA) have said that its members do not have the PMS (petrol) the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) claims it had started offloading in their tanks.

DAPPMA is one of the oil marketers through which the NNPC imports and distributes petrol across the country.

But the group said as the lingering fuel scarcity continued on Tuesday that though it cannot confirm or dispute the NNPC’s claims of having sufficient product stock, it can however confirm that the products are not in their tanks and so cannot be distributed.

This is coming on the heels of NNPC’s claim that it had sufficient products in stock and had started offloading it in depots across the country.

But in a statement DAPPMA executive secretary, Mr. Olufemi Adewole, released on Tuesday, he said that “while we cannot confirm or dispute the NNPC’s claims of having sufficient product stock, we can confirm that the products are not in our tanks and as such cannot be distributed. If the products are offshore, then surely, they cannot be considered to be available to Nigerians.”

According Adewole, DAPPMA members were prepared to embark on 24-hour loading and truck-out if they are provided with the petrol by the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC).

He said, “The NNPC imports and distributes through DAPPMA, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria and Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria. Our members pay the PPMC/NNPC in advance for petroleum products, and fully paid up PMS orders that have neither been programmed nor loaded are in excess of 500,000 metric tonnes, about 800 million litres as of today, and enough to meet the nation’s needs for 19 days at a daily estimated consumption of 35 million litres.”

On what is responsible for the unending fuel crisis Adewole said, “We all know that we presently run a fixed price regime of N145 per litre for PMS without any recourse to subsidy claims. However, we also have no control on the international price of crude oil.

READ ALSO: There’s still N26 subsidy per litre of fuel —NNPC

“We understand that the NNPC meets this demand largely through its DSDP framework. However, due to price challenges on the DSDP platform, some participants in the scheme failed to meet their supply quota of refined petroleum products, especially PMS, to the NNPC. This is the main reason for this scarcity.”

Adewole further explained that there were always issues of distribution anytime the NNPC assumes the role of sole importer. This he said was because marketers own 80 per cent of the functional receptive facilities and retail outlets in the country.

He added, “Sadly, some people have blamed marketers for hoarding fuel. Unfortunately, this is so far from the truth. Hoarding of fuel is regarded as an economic sabotage and we assure all Nigerians that our members are not involved in such illicit acts.

 

 

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