Marketers insist on imminent fuel scarcity, say landing cost remains too high

Oil marketers in the country have warned the federal government that if it fails to address the rising cost of petrol sourcing, marketers will stop buying and distributing the product, which will ultimately lead to severe scarcity, National Daily has learnt.

Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association, Ejigbo chapter, Alamu Ayo told National Daily that things are tough for marketers as they are not receiving supplies from the state oil company.

“Ejigbo is the major supply facility to the rest of the Western zone, but since April 2016, the facility has been down till date; we are not functioning. NNPC is not giving us fuel and I challenge them on this.”

According to him, marketers buy fuel from depot owners at N137-N138 per litre, then add N3 per litre for transport and N1 a litre for loading logistics, bringing the cost to N142 per litre, and we sell at N145 per litre.

He further explained that the margin from a truck after all expenses is about N50, 000, adding that no marketer would like to do such business.

Also, a top IPMAN member confirmed that NipCo was no longer receiving products from the NNPC like before, signalling a worrying scenario.

Meanwhile, the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA) has lamented the N660billion debt owed them by the federal government for imported fuel and interest on bank loans.

Its executive secretary, Mr Olufemi Adewole, who disclosed this in Lagos against the backdrop of long queues of trucks along Ijora-Apapa awaiting to load product at Dockyard and Apapa depot, said the debt has put marketers in a precarious situation.

Adewole noted that most marketers had stopped importing products due to their inability to access foreign exchange as well as government’s refusal to pay outstanding debts owed them.

The marketers have lamented that the inability to pay or service the loans has not only stalled further importation of fuel, but is threatening the operations of the affected banks and the nation’s financial industry in general.

Adewole continued: “Foreign exchange remains another big challenge; we don’t have forex to import the product, except we are able to get adequate forex. For now, the landing cost of petrol stands at over N145 due to high forex rate which poses a serious concern to marketers on the price to sell the product. Most marketers depend on NNPC-imported petrol cargoes. We buy from NNPC and our selling price depends on the price given to us”.