LAGOS – The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) on Tuesday directed its members to commence importation of refined petroleum products as the Federal Government had pledged to pay outstanding subsidy.
The National President of IPMAN, Mr Chinedu Okoronkwo, disclosed the directive on telephone to newsmen in Lagos.
Okoronkwo said the directive followed assurances from government and to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians from the ongoing national scarcity of petrol.
According to him, we have had series of meeting with government agencies that are saddled with the payment of subsidy claims and we have been assured of prompt payment.
“IPMAN members have been instructed to commence importation of petrol into the country to avert the lingering fuel scarcity.
address the nation’s current petrol supply challenges in the zone.
“Once again, we have been assured by the NNPC that petrol supply will be sustained in the depots.
“I enjoin marketers to join hands with the NNPC to wet the market with product and shun hoarding,’’ he said.
He lauded the programmes of the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, a subsidiary of NNPC, saying that without them the sanity in the downstream oil sector would not have been possible.
He advised the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) to give import licences to serious marketers who were willing to import petrol.
Newsmen reports that the management of NNPC on Monday began fresh measures to halt artificially induced petrol scarcity in some parts of the country.
The corporation said it planned to import more than one billion litres of petrol in March to address short fall in supply.
