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The Nigerian petrol retail organisation, Independent Petroleum
Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) have alleged that the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is diverting majority of the
products from the Mosimi depot in Ogun State to other states and its
own-operated mega stations across the country.
The development, they said, could bring about another round of fuel
crisis in some parts of the country. Making the allegation at the
Annual General Meeting of the association in Ogun State this week,
Chairman of IPMAN, Mosimi Chapter, Alhaji Adebisi Bada, said the NNPC
had earlier attributed shortfall in supply to vandalism and other
reasons. But as the situation as normalised in recent times for
other depots, problems have continued at Mosimi depot .
Members of the association who are about 360, have over 458 petrol
stations across the country, but non- availability of products is
militating against smooth distribution of fuel to stations. Bada
said: "Very soon, the scarcity would be felt in the town because the
new arrangement cannot stand.
"The greatest part of the problem has been the NNPC directing virtually
all the mega stations to take their products from Mosimi. As I am
talking to you, we are having about 11 mega stations loading from
Mosimi, such as the one at Abeokuta, Akure, Ikoyi, Ado Ekiti, Ilorin,
Benin, Asaba, Abuja, Minna, Jos and Bauchi, which were not parts of the
arrangement.
"Why should we ask trucks to come from Benin and Asaba to take products
from Mosimi, when the same product is available in Warri. We wonder the
logic behind NNPC asking trucks to come from as far as Minna, Bauchi
and Jos to come to Mosimi when there is effective loading in Ilorin
Depot."
This situation, he said, is at the detriment of the local independent
marketers, noting that virtually half of the product delivered to
Mosimi depot is being used to service mega stations and other states.
The IPMAN leader said in January 2009, local marketers loaded only 31
trucks, major marketers loaded 17 trucks and mega stations took 24
trucks while the bridging to Abuja alone was 23 trucks. On previous
Saturday, the marketers were said to have been given only seven trucks
while the mega stations took 23.
"The marketers do not support scarcity, we do not benefit from it, our
concern is to get products and sell them accordingly, but it is quite
unfortunate that the story is not the same as expected," Bada said.
PetrolWorld 190309
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