The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) on Wednesday said oil marketers were not able to lift products from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), hence the scarcity being experienced in some fuel stations.
It said although the NNPCL was yet to increase their prices, marketers can no longer access the Company’s portal as it no longer approves grants the authority to.
The Spokesperson, IPMAN, Chinedu Ukadike who made disclosure while speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, Abuja, explained that because of marketers’ inability to get products, private depots with few products were already banking on the situation for profiteering, speaking on the heels of
His words:”NNPCL has not increased their prices; it still remains the same on their portal, but marketers are finding it difficult to access their portal because they are no longer approving the authority to lift from the portal.
“Like in the private Depot in Port Harcourt, marketers have been waiting for 4-5 days waiting for NNPCL to bring products so we can load and because of the little scarcity in the Depots some tank farms owners who have little products are now selling above the tenable price that is why you see that some marketers have adjusted their prices. You go to buy and the price is a little higher from what you normally used to buy, marketers will adjust the price to accommodate the changes.
“Another factor is the cost of diesel. If the price of diesel goes up, then it also affects price of petrol because we have to move product from wet areas to fry areas .”
On the crude oil theft, Ukadike urged the FG to deploy a joint security apparatus to help secure oil installations especially across the Niger Delta region.
“It is unfortunate that we have almost five or six security agencies and the issue of crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism is still persisting.
” I also believe that the Federal Government has not equipped my and women officials with the right tools to tackle vandalism. It is unfortunate that we have to employ private security to guide our oil installations when we have Army, police Covil defense,” he added.
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