In reaction to the fuel scarcity which is being witnessed around the country for quite sometime now, the Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), covering Oyo, Osun States and environs, Alhaji Bukola Mutiu, has said that members of the association are not responsible for the scarcity.

Mutiu, while speaking in his office on Thursday stated that independent petroleum marketers are facing series of challenges as regards getting petrol to sell, part of which he said is the non-availability of the product directly from NNPC, adding that the private depots which are in possession of the product are selling to independent marketers at between N248 and N250 per litre.

Mutiu noted that:”As I speak to you, we are not being given any supply from NNPC. As usual, we have to go to the private depots to get the product. As of now we are getting it within the range of N248 and N250 per litre in Lagos, In Warri, it is between N250 and N260 without cost of transportation to our various fuel stations.

“If you add up everything, you will discover that the figure will outrageous and that is why you are seeing our members selling at various amounts depending on the price they get from these private depots.

“Surprisingly this morning, we just discovered that NNPC retail outlets have increased their pump price from N179 to N189 per litre. This development shows that there is a major problem at hand. As of this morning, less than ten private depots are selling in Lagos. Even those that are selling are not working full day, they are only rendering skeletal services,” he added.

While proffering solution to the fuel scarcity problem, Mutiu said:”The immediate solution to this problem is that NNPC is the sole importer of petroleum products to this country and it is a known fact that independent petroleum marketers own 80 percent of the fuel stations in the country.

“The little petrol they are bringing into the country should be given to us and allow the security agencies to monitor us so that the price of petrol will crash, but giving it to private depots and allowing us to go there to buy will not help, the price of petrol will just keep going up.”

He concluded by appealing to Nigerians that:”The Nigerian populace should not see us as profit-minded people, we know how essential our job is to the masses as well as any form of increase in price of petroleum products.

“We want the masses to understand us that we are not responsible for the increase in the price of petrolewum products particularly petrol. They should bear with us while we are hoping that anytime soon, everything will return to normal," he insisted. (Nigerian Tribune)

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