Oil marketers have called out the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), as it accused the state-owned energy corporation of politicising the supply process and making vain promises.
Raising supply concerns amid the lingering fuel scarcity in the country, the marketers under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) claimed they had yet to get fuel in spite of the assurances from the Managing Director (MD) of the NNPCL Retail, Hubb Stocksman, in December that they would receive direct product supply at the government-regulated price of N148 per litre from this month.
“We have yet to see any product supply. Well, the man (Stockman) has been in Nigeria for some time now and is probably beating us to our game. He’s playing politics and we don’t see the situation abating soonest,” the Chairman of Satellite Depot, IPMAN, Akin Akinrinade stated.
On what could be the lasting solution to fuel scarcity, he advised the Federal Government to revive the refineries to enable local production.
“The lasting solution is for the refineries to start functioning and we begin local refining,” he said.
Also speaking, the National Operations Controller of IPMAN, Mike Osatuyi said the removal of fuel subsidy and deregulation was the key to resolving the fuel scarcity menace.
“The permanent solution is to deregulate and remove subsidies. Allow the market to be a free market, where marketers other than the NNPC will be able to bring in products. Since the government said the subsidy would be removed in June, let’s wait and see, but until then, we have to manage,” he explained.
