The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has stated that its members are unable to load petrol from the Dangote Refinery in Lagos, despite having paid ₦40 billion to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
IPMAN President, Abubakar Garima revealed this on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily program on Wednesday.
This is in response to Aliko Dangote’s claim that marketers were avoiding his refinery in favor of imported petrol, noting that IPMAN members are eager to purchase from Dangote if allowed to do so directly.
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“We have over ₦40 billion in outstanding debt with the NNPCL. I was surprised when Dangote said he has over 500 million liters of PMS. We are ready to buy the product from Dangote if he is ready to sell it to us directly,” Garima stated.
He added that his members are not importing petrol, contrary to Dangote’s suggestion.
Instead, Garima argued, the Dangote Refinery should register independent marketers directly, bypassing the NNPCL, to allow for easier loading.
“If he [Dangote] can sell the product directly to us, we can buy because we pay upfront before loading. Currently, we have ₦40 billion with the NNPCL, yet we can’t access the product.
“Recently, some marketers were sent to load at the Dangote refinery but were unable to load even after waiting four days with their trucks,” he explained.
On Tuesday, Aliko Dangote met with President Bola Tinubu in Abuja, announcing he had over 500 million liters of petrol in storage at his refinery, but that marketers were not using his facility.
However, Garima noted that IPMAN, representing over 20,000 marketers, has already paid ₦40 billion to NNPCL but is still unable to load from the refinery.
Garima suggested that if the Dangote Refinery allowed independent marketers to lift petrol directly, similar to the NNPCL arrangement, Nigerians would likely see a reduction in pump prices.
