It wasn’t that long ago that petrol stations around the country were riddled with queues as long as the Nile as Nigerians were suffering the effects of fuel scarcity.
The entire country, from North to the South were all dealing with this issue as petroleum products are basically a necessity in our economy. Now, according to marketers the scarcity might be making a return.
According to the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), it’s only a matter of time. Chairman of the Association, Alhaji Bashir Danmalam, said the scarcity currently rearing its head in Abuja is only a tip of the iceberg. He added that the situation will be averted if the Federal Government prevailed on the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to pay N500 billion bridging claims by its members.
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“For failure of the NMDPRA to pay the outstanding claims for about nine months, many marketers cannot transport the product because their funds are not being paid.”
“Only five percent of the marketers can supply the petroleum products because of the failure of NMDPRA to pay them,”
He called for an intervention from the Federal Government. Adding that since the merger of the DPR, PEF and PPRA to form the NMDPRA, members of IPMN had received payment only twice.
