The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has said petrol allocation by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to Ibadan Depot is grossly inadequate.
Alhaji Raimi Tayo, who chairs IPMAN’s Ibadan Depot, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos yesterday that independent marketers hardly loaded 12 trucks daily.
Tayo said the situation was causing scarcity in the hinterlands.
According to him, the depot, which usually loads six million litres daily, has reduced its load to 400,000 litres per day.
He said the development affected business activities of independent marketers.
Tayo accused the Federal Government of giving more attention, in product allocation, to private depots.
He said: “Petroleum products allocation to Ibadan Depot was grossly inadequate.
“We have appealed to the government, through the NNPC, to pump enough products to the depot so that marketers can be in business.
“As at this morning (yesterday), private depots were selling at N158 per litre as against the government-regulated ex-depot price of N133.28 kobo.”
Tayo urged the government to clamp down on depot owners who sold above ex-depot price to marketers.
According to him, although the public accuse marketers of selling above the official pump price, there is no way marketers will sell petrol at N145 per litre at filling stations when the product is sold between N158 and N162 per litre at private depots.
The IPMAN chairman appealed to the NNPC to make petrol available to marketers at depots to ease distribution to hinterlands.
He condemned directives asking marketers to source the product at private depots.
Tayo said: “This is wrong and unprofitable.”
The IPMAN chairman noted that pipeline vandalism and inadequate pumping of petroleum products from System 2B – at Mosinmi – to Ibadan is also a challenge.
NAN reports that the daily petrol pricing survey from Apapa Depot showed that the depots sold the product above ex-depot price of N133.28.
At NIPCO, it was N160 per litre; Chipet, N162; Rahamaniyyah, N152.50; Obat, N152; Aiteo, N160 and A. A. Rano, N160.
A depot owner, who spoke in confidence, told NAN that no depot owner imported petrol, adding that petrol loading still belonged to NNPC since it ‘s the sole importer.
But NNPC’s Group General Manager (Public Affairs) Ndu Ughammadu said: “We sell to them at the official price. We have not increased ex-depot price. The appropriate agencies are monitoring.”
