IPMAN has given explanation for the latest petrol queues that has resurfaced across the country as it blames the NNPC for the ugly development.
The Independent Petroleum Marketers of Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) yesterday explained that the unavailability of petrol for marketers to load from petrol depots is the cause of the lingering queues Nigerians are experiencing now.
Lamenting about the incident, its Vice President, Alhaji Abubakar Dankigari, said that members of the association have 8,000 tickets pending that it has not been able to load.
According to him, private depots owners have been selling petrol at a price higher than the official N77 per litre to marketers, lamenting that the depots have all gone dry.
Dankigari blamed fuel scarcity on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that is responsible for the importation of 78 per cent of the product to the country.
He said: “The issue is that even where we are loading, there is no product. We already have more than 8,000 tickets but we have not been able to load.
“Even the private depots that used to sell the products at a higher rate no longer have the product to sell. So, that is the reason why you have been seeing those queues. The NNPC is only agency of government responsible for bringing the products into the country.”
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, has warned depot owners against selling petrol above the approved ex-depot price of N77 per litre.
In a statement, its Group General Manager, Group Public Afdairs Division, Mr. Ohi Alegbe yesterday said the warning came against the backdrop of repeated complaints by marketers of sharp practices at the depots.
The statement quoted the minister as warning that depot owners found to be involved in selling products above the approved ex-depot prices would be severely sanctioned.
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