…Plans to supply 1.2bn litres of PMS in January
OpeOluwani Akintayo
28 December 2017, Sweetcrude, Lagos – The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has responded to allegations made against it by the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association, DAPPMA, over the current fuel scarcity, saying it was still supplying DAPPMA members with petroleum products despite their owing N26.7 billion debts
On Tuesday, DAPPMA had blamed NNPC for the fuel scarcity.
However, in a statement by NNPC’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ndu Ughamadu, on Wednesday, the corporation described the DAPPMA blame as “very unfortunate”.
NNPC said it had supplied “appreciable volume” to DAPPMA, Major Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, and Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria, IPMAN, to resolve challenges currently being experienced in the supply and distribution of petroleum products in the country.
“NNPC regrets that DAPPMA, which members had taken receipts of products from Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of NNPC, and owe the company to the tune of N26.7 billion as at December 21, 2017, has the audacity to indict NNPC unjustifiably,” the statement read.
NNPC said the statement by DAPPMA that the current fuel crisis was due to the inability of the Direct Sales Direct Purchase, DSDP, partners of NNPC to deliver on their business obligations, is unfounded and self-indicting as many of DAPPMA members patronise the same DSDP international counterparts as the corporation.
“Despite the concession by the government giving access to DAPPMA to obtain forex at an official rate of N305 per dollar for PMS import, their members have not been able to do so, leaving NNPC as the sole supplier of PMS to the Nigerian market,” statement added.
The corporation assured the public that while it is doubling its efforts to arrest the scarcity, it has programmed to supply 1.2 billion litres of the white products in January 2018, translating to about 40 million litres of PMS supply per day.
Ordinarily, Nigeria consumes about 700 trucks (27–30 million litres) per day.
NNPC said despite the current challenges, there was no plan to increase PMS pump price above N145/litre and that it will continue to maintain ex–depot price of N133.28/litre which guarantees the pump price not exceeding the N145 per litre capped by the government.
“All stakeholders are implored to support the efforts of government to bring a speedy end to the current fuel distribution challenges being experienced in parts of the country as this is not the time to play the blame game,” the statement further read.
