The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has asked its members to source petroleum products from local refineries to improve supply and stabilise prices.
In a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja, Abubakar
Shettima, IPMAN’s national president, also asked the federal government to
discourage fuel importation.
“As an association that controls over 80 percent of
Nigeria’s downstream petroleum retail infrastructure, operating more than
150,000 retail outlets across the nation, we recognise the strategic importance
of this development,” Shettima said.
He said greater reliance on domestic refineries would
eliminate costly freight and port charges, stimulate local employment and
provide the quickest path to achieving national energy independence.
Shettima described embracing Nigeria’s domestic refining
capacity as a patriotic obligation and urged IPMAN members to capitalise on the
opportunity to move from mere off-takers of petroleum products to equity owners
of primary production infrastructure.
He said such investment would strengthen the collective
capacity of independent marketers to guarantee affordable and unhindered fuel
distribution across all 36 states while ensuring stability in pump prices.
Shettima said the Dangote refinery’s robust operational
capacity not only secures our domestic energy needs but also conserves vital
foreign exchange.
“IPMAN believes that investment in the Dangote Refinery is a
direct stake in the energy security and economic sovereignty of Nigeria,” he
said.
Shettima, however, appealed to the management of the Dangote
refinery not to discontinue its direct allocation of premium motor spirit (PMS)
to independent marketers.
He urged the refinery to expand its direct allocation
framework to cover every registered independent marketer nationwide, rather
than limiting access or cutting off selected distribution channels.
The IPMAN president also urged the federal government to
implement stringent policies to discourage the continuous importation of PMS.
He said continued reliance on imported fuel would deplete
the country’s foreign reserves and undermine domestic industrial growth.
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