The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, has given reasons it’s members are yet to buy Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol), more popularly known as fuel from Dangote Refinery.
The president of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, had cried out that despite having over 500 million litres of petrol that could have solved the persistent fuel crisis in the country, Nigeria’s petrol marketers are not buying his fuel.
Dangote’s made the observation when the Naira-for-crude implementation committee visited President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday.
However, IPMAN has explained that the problem was due to challenges faced in purchasing fuel from the Dangote Refinery.
Speaking on Channels Television, Abubakar Maigandi stated that IPMAN members are not boycotting Dangote’s Petrol for imported fuel.
Rather he traced the problem to the challenges they face in purchasing the product directly from Dangote Refinery and the pricing template.
Maigandi said Dangote Refinery is to blame because of the delays the marketers in getting registered to lift fuel directly from Dangote.
He recalled that acting on the instructions of the NNPCL marketers, who went to Dangote Refinery to lift petrol, stayed four days without getting the product.
“Recently, some of the IPMAN marketers that NNPCL sent to Dangote Refinery to lift gasoline stayed with their trucks for four days; they are unable to load.
“That is why we have been contacting Dangote Refinery to allow loading directly so that immediately we pay for the product, we could lift it immediately.
“If Dangote has 500 million litres of fuel in stock, we are ready to buy the product directly. Until now, NNPCL is still the sole off-taker of Dangote Petrol.
“In buying directly from Dangote Refinery, there are some processes put in place by the company that we are still following. They said they cannot sell the product to us individually. The company wants us to come in groups, which we have already done. We have submitted an application. Until the present day, Dangote Refinery has yet to register us, talk less of going to the refinery to lift the product.
“Yesterday (Tuesday), I called their attention; we were told to wait,” he said.