…NNPC urges depot owners to settle PEF backlog
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has threatened to induce scarcity of petroleum products in Nigeria if private depot owners fail to settle the backlog of Petroleum Equalisation Funds (PEF) it owes independent marketers.
The association said that the failure of the depot owners to offset the bills has made it difficult for the oil marketers to lift products. IPMAN Northwest zone chairman, Bashir Dan-Malam, who spoke with newsmen in Abuja, said “the failure of the private depot owners to release PEF has resulted in the inability of the IPMAN members to continue lifting fuel products.”
The threat from IPMAN comes on the heels of an earlier warning by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to the depot owners urging them to settle the marketers or face the consequences, including the denial of further allocation of petroleum products.
Dan-Mallam said: “The problem of petroleum products scarcity in most cases, among other reasons, is a result of the withholding of equalization fund to independent marketers. Thank God, the NNPC is aware and planning to take it seriously this time. That is why we commend the recent directive issued to the private owners.”
According to him, if the decision is fully implemented, it will go a long way in solving the problems bedevilling the downstream sector. “I want to also urge marketers to be honest and transparent in managing the fund. The payment will enable marketers to build more filling stations and create more job opportunities for our teeming youths,” he said.
Chibisi Ohakah
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