Oil marketers operating in the country at the weekend said that they are currently at the mercy of the Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) who sell products to them at exorbitant prices.
This is coming amid the scarcity of petrol at the retail outlets across the country and the demand for downward review of prices by agitated Nigerians.
The downstream operators called on President Bola Tinubu to take more than passing interest in the activities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), DAPPMA and the regulatory agency, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
Some of the marketers who spoke under the condition of anonymity, alleged that the connivance among the above-mentioned stakeholders were inimical to availability of the products and the seamless distribution to retail outlets.
It was learnt that the NNPC, the sole importer of petroleum products in Nigeria, gives Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol to the private depot owners operating under the aegis of DAPPMAN at ex-depot price of N556.5 per litre.
However, it was gathered that the tank farm owners sell to marketers at N700 to N740.00, leaving them with little or no margin or profit to sell at stations.
Recalling the previous experience in the sector when the NNPC used to release petroleum products allocation to tank farm owners for distribution to marketers with a benchmark on price, the industry operators called on the federal government to sanitise the distribution chain.
They called on the government to prevail on the NNPC and the industry regulator, the NMDPRA to insist on an ex-depot price for the tank farm owners.
“What we used to have in the past was an arrangement where the NNPC gave allocations meant for independent marketers to the private depot owners to sell to marketers with a benchmark, a reasonable price.
“Now, the independent marketers have no allocation, they are at the mercy of the tank farm owners. A situation where there is no ex-depot price won’t augur well for the industry. Private depot owners now sell at N800 to those of us who will sell at retail outlets to ordinary Nigerians.
“We are the ones Nigerians are accusing of hoarding products and selling at exorbitant prices. Instead of the midstream regulatory agency to do its job by beaming searchlight on the activities of the tank farm owners, by insisting on ex- depot price they are using the marketers as scapegoats,” the group said.
According to the marketers, there is a cabal in the sector creating problems for Tinubu, stressing that he must show the determination to break their rank.
“How many stations do tank farm owners have? But they are making huge profits to the detriment of Nigerians,” the oil marketers stressed.
The marketers also expressed the hope that giving the necessary incentives to the Dangote Refinery would go a long way in addressing the shortfall in product availability.
They called on the federal government to make the four refineries work to put an end to product importation and save the country the much-needed foreign exchange.
Emmanuel Addeh
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