TheCable

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has asked the federal government to speed up the processing of their licences to sustain access to petroleum products.

The association made the request in a statement by Chinedu Ukadike, its national public relations officer, on Thursday in Abuja.

Citing the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the association said the processing of more than 9,000 licences — out of the 15,000 — has been finalised.

IPMAN, therefore, called on regulators to deliver the processed licences as well as extend the deadline for the delisting of marketers from their express portals. 

“The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria are abreast with current developments in the downstream sector of our petroleum industry and wish to state that the latest information reaching us from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority states that they have already processed more than 9,000 out of the 15,000 licenses they are expected to process for our members within this period,” the statement reads.

“Marketers are fast-tracking the processing of their licenses to avoid the impending closure of their customer express portals for purchase of petroleum products from NNPC Retail Limited.

“We, therefore, use this opportunity to appeal to the management of the NMDPRA and NNPC Retail Limited to respectively release the processed licenses and extend the deadline for delisting of marketers from their express portals.”

The association said if the request is approved, it would ease the tension of panic buying by the public “in order not to aggravate the present scarcity of petroleum products”.

On April 30, IPMAN had said it would take decisions that will cripple the supply of petrol due to the non-payment of over N200 billion bridging claims.

The threat was made amid a biting scarcity of petrol, which has led to an increase in transport costs and hampering business operations.