Petroleum marketers have stated that they have not been officially informed of the plan by the federal government to reduce the pump price of fuel to N85 per litre next year.
The Executive Secretary of the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN), Mr. Femi Adewole, that he, like every other Nigerian, read the planned price cut on fuel in the newspapers.
Adewole said the relevant agencies of the federal government have not briefed his association on the plan, adding that the development remains a rumour to DAPMMA.
Mr Mike Osatuyi, the National Operation Controller of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), also told our correspondent that there was no stakeholders’ meeting with marketers before the government came up with the proposed N2 cut.
Osatuyi stated that though the blueprint on how to implement the cut was yet to be made known to his members, IPMAN would not hesitate to support the federal government on moves to give Nigerians a cheaper pump price of fuel if the blueprint is well articulated.
Meanwhile, IPMAN said that its members last week loaded about 300 trucks of fuel from the Apapa private depot, which they distributed to various outlets as part of the moves to end the scarcity of the product nationwide.
Osatuyi said at a press briefing in Lagos at the weekend that the loading of the product was enhanced by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s special intervention in fuel supply to marketers.
He confirmed that his own company received two trucks of 76,000 litres at its stations at Akute, Lagos, through the scheme. Payment for the consignment would be done after sales.
Osatuyi said the federal government, through the NNPC/PPMC, should be commended for the special intervention scheme, saying the development showed that government has a listening ear.
“The only way to ensure the total eradication of queues in the country is when this intervention of petrol supply is sustainable. I have instructed my station manager to ensure a 24-hour sales until the product is exhausted, which is the mandate of the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachwuchu,” he said.
The IPMAN boss declared that as the federal government has chosen to partner with the IPMAN on effective fuel distribution, the association was ready to support the scheme to ensure no member sells above the pump price.
The IPMAN boss disclosed that about 300 trucks had been loaded from the Apapa private depot by members to various locations of IPMAN outlets.
Osatuyi said that though there were a number of challenges in the supply and distribution system that hamper efficient distribution of products across the country, the NNPC seems to be rising above the challenges by ensuring that the special intervention supplies are not diverted or hoarded.
“This calls for effective monitoring of the supply system, especially at the end points, to ascertain that what is trucked out from the depots is delivered at the designated fuel stations and dispensed to the public in the most efficient manner,” he advised.
He urged government to ensure the product is available after the Christmas period, while maintaining that deregulation of the downstream sector remains the best option for the country’s oil industry.