Fuel crisis imminent - Marketers threaten nationwide strike

From Ayodele Adesanmi, Dele Aderibigbe and Folashade Alli - 06.03.2008

ANOTHER round of fuel scarcity seems imminent if the threat by petroleum marketers is anything to go by. The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association (IPMAN) on Wednesday threatened to withdraw its services over the non-payment of bridging claims from the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) to the association.

It will be recalled that the Federal Government set up the PEF to make sure that cost of petroleum products pump price is uniform throughout the country by paying the difference in the cost of transportation between the depots and the filling stations to the marketers.

Investigation by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which is to release the money to PEF for onward transmission to IPMAN, still had arrears of N7 billion to pay.

Already, over N10 billion is being owed IPMAN which, according to Alhaji Danladi Pasali, the Public Relations Officer of the association, was affecting petroleum products supply across the country.

He told the Nigerian Tribune that some parts in the Northern and Eastern states were already experiencing long queue at petrol stations.

Alhaji Pasali stated that “ this non-payment has brought untold hardship to our members nationwide. The non-payment has discouraged IPMAN members from bridging to the Northern and Eastern parts of the country.”

The cost of bridging, he said, which takes months to be reimbursed, had taken a great toll “on our members business which may invariably affect products to the system.”

He, therefore, appealed to the relevant agencies concerned in the bureaucratic operation of releasing the bridging claims to act on time and consider the suffering of Nigerians if the association should stop lifting products.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) had declared the safety and security level of six oil tank farms operators in Lagos as falling below international standards, and threatened to shut them down.

A letter from the NPA, issued from the office of the Managing Director, said its conclusion was based on the strength of the audit report of all tank farms in Lagos.

Five out of the six companies affected are owned and managed by entrepreneurs from the Eastern part of Nigeria. The companies are the Capital Oil and Gas, Wadeko Oil, Ibeto Oil, Total and the Intergrated Oil and Gas.

Briefing newsmen on Tuesday in Lagos, Intergrated Oil and Gas tank farm owner, Captain Emmanuel Ihenacho, stated that those affected had done all that was supposed to be done, and he could, therefore, not understand why the NPA was adopting an “ambiguous” measure to put the most functional tank farm operators out of business.

“The current decision by the NPA management to suspend the discharge of products to our tank farm is completely unwarranted blackmail,” Ihenacho said.

Speaking in a similar vein, owner of Capital Oil and Gas, Mr. Ifeanyi Ofurum, who described NPA’s letter as diversionary, said it was sad that the letter was dispatched to the most functional tank farms in Lagos without being mindful of its implication in terms of product availability, scarcity and its attendant consequences on price and the common man.

A DPR official, Mr. Krona Uti, whose opinion was sought after inspecting a fire and safety drills by the Capital Oil on Wednesday, said their response level was perfect.