Oil marketers indicted us unjustifiably despite owing N26.7bn -NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has accused the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA) of indicting it unjustifiably.

DAPPMA had denied being responsible for the scarcity, saying depots belonging to its members were empty.

The marketers also said there are always issues when the NNPC takes on the role of “sole importer” as it currently does, there are problems.

But in a statement by Ndu Ughamadu, NNPC spokesman, the corporation said it supplied petrol to DAPPMA members to resolve the supply challenges.

“NNPC wishes to affirm that it has supplied appreciable volume to DAPPMA, Major Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) to rid the challenges currently being experienced in the supply and distribution of petroleum products in the country,” the statement read.

“NNPC regrets that DAPPMA which members had taken receipts of products from Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of NNPC and owe the company to the tune of N26.7 billion as at December 21, 2017, has the audacity to indict NNPC unjustifiably.

“The statement by DAPPMA that the current hiccups in the supply of products was due to the inability of the Direct Sale Direct Purchase (DSDP) partners of NNPC to deliver on their business obligations is unfounded and self-indicting as many of DAPPMA members patronize the same DSDP international counterparts as the corporation.”

NNPC said DAPPMA members were granted a concession by the federal government to obtain forex to import petroleum products.

It added that DAPPMA members could not do so leaving NNPC as the major importer of petroleum products.

The corporation said it had programmed the supply of 40 million litres of petrol in January 2018 despite the daily consumption of 27-30 million litres.

“Despite the current challenges, Nigerians are reassured that there is no plan to increase PMS pump price above N145/litre and that NNPC will continue to maintain ex–depot price of N133.28/litre which guarantees the pump price not exceeding the N145 per litre capped by the government.