Petroleum marketers threaten to withdraw services over unpaid bridging claim

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has threatened to withdraw its tankers from loading petroleum products over non-payment of bridging claims of over N100 billion owed to its members.

The marketers disclosed this in a communique signed by the Chairman of IPMAN Depot Chairmen Forum, Yahaya Alhassan, on Monday.

The marketers’ association said that the debt has been owed for over a year, despite promises from the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to settle the claims.

The association expressed frustration over the government’s failure to fulfill its promises, noting that this has resulted in the deaths of its members, business closures, and staff retrenchment.

“We are extremely frustrated that one year after our last demand as a forum, requesting the payment of over N100 billion owed our members in bridging and NTA claims by the NMDPRA, the management of the NMDPRA have deliberately ignored our request, even after making clear promises to pay us. The NMDPRA promised to offset the bridging claims in 40 days even in the presence of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu and the DG DSS, Adeola Ajayi,” it said.

However, the association said 40 days have today become months with no hope of payment.

“As a forum of law-abiding Nigerians, we sincerely believe that we have given the NMDPRA enough time to pay us our monies in bulk and clear the bridging claims. But in view of their constant refusal, we have therefore decided to liaise with our sister organisations; the Petroleum Tankers Drivers (PTD) and Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) in order to take a collective action in due course.

“As members of IPMAN, it is important to state that we also own sizable numbers of petroleum tankers driven by the PTD, and we may be forced to withdraw our tankers from loading petroleum products in a view to enforce the immediate payment of our bridging and NTA claims,” the communique reads.

Hence, it said the nine Northern depots comprising Jos depot, Gusau depot, Minna depot, Suleja depot, Kaduna Depot, Kano depot, Gombe depot, Yola Depot and Maiduguri depot have become completely grounded over the debt.

The association explained that the debt being owed to them are monies belonging to marketers, and which were deducted from them at the point of payments for products, in order to settle bridging allowances.

“We have also continued to record deaths of our members, closure of their businesses, retrenchment of staff, and the take-over of their business premises by the commercial banks, all arising from this refusal of the NMDPRA to pay us our monies,” the association said.

IPMAN also criticised the NMDPRA’s alleged imposition of abnormal levies, including a 5 per cent commission on the sale of petrol stations, adding that it’s unconstitutional and anti-developmental

“Tell me, when has the NMDPRA turned itself into real estate agents; collecting a commission on sales of Retail Petrol Outlets? There is no gainsaying the truism that the downstream retail industry is an ever evolving one. And so, as IPMAN members, we go the extra mile to renovate our outlets occasionally, to meet with international best practices.

“However, the NMDPRA has also made this very difficult for us, as they have also subjected our members to paying bizarre levies whenever we deem it fit to renovate our petrol outlets.

“These are just a few of the many distressing levies they have forced on us; these are not only anti-developmental, they are also unconstitutional, and we are demanding their immediate suspension,” it said.

Appeal

The IPMAN members, however, called on President Bola Tinubu to fully intervene in these prolonged disputes between Depot Chairmen of the IPMAN and the NMDPRA.

“We will not hesitate to immediately take actions in due course if our demands are not met immediately beginning from today Monday 24th February 2025.

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“We call on our members nationwide to however remain resolute and law abiding, as we wait for our demands to be met and addressed by the NMDPRA,” the association said.

When PREMIUM TIMES contacted the NMDPRA spokesperson, George Ene-Ita, on Monday afternoon, he promised to get back to the reporter but he is yet to do so as of press time Monday evening.