NMDPRA Claim Of N74bn Oil Bridging Payment Is Spurious – IPMAN Insists
…Threatens ‘mother of all’ fuel scarcity from next week
Members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), have challenged the Chief Executive of the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr. Farouk Ahmed, to tell Nigerians those he allegedly paid the humongous N74billion he claimed to be payment for bridging of petroleum products in the country.
Secretary of IPMAN for Abuja-Suleja branch, Mohammed Shuaibu, who questioned the alleged payment claim by NMDPRA, further said Ahmed as Chief Executive of the agency, should reveal the names of any marketer the government paid back his claims with documents.
Shuaibu said that contrary to claims by the NMDPRA Chief Executive, no oil marketers has been paid any money being owed, stressing that unless the Federal Government act fast to pay the 12 months bridging claims being owed operators in the downstream oil sector who are members of IPMAN, the nation should braze up for “mother of all” fuel shortage with its attendant queues with effect from next week.
He said that members of IPMAN which controls about 70% of filling stations in the country are only asking for money owed them for bridging claims for the transportation of petroleum products.
Shuaibu, whose unit covers Abuja, Kogi, Niger and parts of Nasarawa and Kaduna, pointedly said that members of IPMAN are disappointed at the spurious claims of NMDPRA on the payments of bridging claims.
In the words of Shuaibu; “The NMDPRA boss, Ahmed said he has paid marketers N74bn right? We have accused him of sabotaging our efforts by not paying us our bridging claims and that is the fact.
“Since he claims to have paid, we are not arguing but we challenge him to come out and name the marketers that he paid. Let him bring out the documents. If you say you have paid our members N74bn, and we say we have not been paid, then come out and explain to the public.
“Anyway, by the time we down-tool fully within the next one week, he will explain to the public and the presidency how the situation got to that level, because this one is going to lead to the mother of all queues.
“You are owing a marketer, for example N30m or N20m, you paid him N150,000 or N200,000 and you now go on air to say you have paid the marketer. Is there any justification to that effect?” he queried.
Shuaibu noted that the debt being owed oil marketers was far beyond N50bn, stressing that IPMAN had been raising the alarm as many of our members were shutting down operations due to their inability to continue in business.
He also said; “By the time we down-tool, it will be massive because the nine depots in the North and other marketers are now itching to come out with their own claims. They are ready to join in solidarity and may be by that time the government will know if we are joking or not”.
