IPMAN Appeals To GMD To Release Over ₦5bn Allegedly Held By NNPC Retail Ltd .

*Warns that delay could destabilize fuel supply chains

*Congratulates newly appointed GMD, Engr Bayo Ojulari

By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan

The leadership and members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Eastern Zone, have raised alarm over an alleged over N5 billion financial crisis affecting its members.

In an open letter, jointly signed by Prince Bobby Eberechi Dick (Zonal Chairman) and Emmanuel Inimgba (Zonal Secretary) made available to journalists on Sunday, the association congratulated the newly appointed Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Engr Bayo Ojulari,

The association stressed in the letter, that over ₦5 billion paid by independent marketers into the NNPC Retail Ltd portal has allegedly remained unreleased for over a year and that the situation has left many marketers on the brink of collapse, with some reportedly losing their property after defaulting on bank loans secured to facilitate those purchases.

While calling for the reopening and resuscitation of strategically important depots in Aba, Enugu, and Makurdi, citing the immense relief it would provide to marketers within the Eastern Zone, the
association expressed hope for a revitalized downstream sector under the watch of the new GMD.

Acknowledging the GMD’s commendable track record in the petroleum sector and lauded the ongoing reforms targeted at improving product access, particularly around the system 2E axis, the association note that
the burden and risks of long-distance procurement trips to Lagos have been significantly reduced under the current reforms.

Emphasizing in the letter that the burden and risks of long-distance procurement trips to Lagos have been significantly reduced under the current reforms, IPMAN Eastern zone said ” Despite multiple engagements with the Managing Director of NNPC Retail Ltd., we have only been told that reconciliation is ongoing—a process that has dragged on for more than five months,”

It maintained that its members, unlike major marketers, operate on a cash-and-carry basis, and such prolonged withholding of funds is unsustainable and expressed willingness to meet with the GMD or relevant authorities to further discuss and find lasting solutions to the challenges facing marketers in the zone.

Seeking urgent intervention from the NNPC GMD to facilitate the immediate release of these funds, it warned that continued delay could cripple many businesses and destabilize fuel supply chains in the Eastern region, saying, ” we urgently seek your intervention to resolve this quagmire, as it poses a significant threat to the livelihoods of many marketers in our association,”