The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has called on Nigerians to be ready for a serious fuel scarcity.
The Kano State IPMAN chairman, Bashir Danmalam, at a press briefing in Kano, said current fuel scarcity in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Kano and other parts of the country was caused by the failure of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority to pay its members their outstanding bridging claim.
According to him, the bridging claim, which is the cost of hauling petroleum products from refineries and depots to fuel stations, currently amounts to over N500 billion.
He said the outstanding had forced many IPMAN members out of business, adding “many of us couldn’t transport the commodity due to the high cost of diesel.”
He said: “The non-payment of the debt for over eight months has crippled the businesses of many members as they cannot transport available petroleum products.
“The resurfacing of fuel queues in Abuja is just the tip of the iceberg. Only 5 percent of marketers are still in business.
“Since the merging of the Department of Petroleum Resources, the Petroleum Equalisation Fund, and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency into the NMDPRA, the agency had paid marketers only twice.
“So, we are calling on the Federal Government to intervene before the situation degenerates into a serious fuel crisis that spread to other parts of the country.
“We are not agitating for transportation fee increase; we are only clamoring for payment of our bridging claims that is more than N500 billion.”
