Home BUSINESS OIL & GAS Fuel: IPMAN Shuts Down Operations In Lagos, Complains Of Losses

Fuel: IPMAN Shuts Down Operations In Lagos, Complains Of Losses

Some members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) have shutdown their operations, complaining about operating at a loss.

Chairman of the Association, Satellite Depot, Ejigbo, Akin Akinrinade, told newsmen in Lagos today, June 20 that members took the decision to shut down the operations because they could no longer operate at a loss.

Akinrinade said that while the government has fixed N165 per litre as the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), the current realities in the market showed that the minimum the product should be retailed at the stations is N180 per litre..

According to him, the current scarcity being witnessed in Lagos is because majority of petrol stations in the state are owned by IPMAN members who are finding it difficult to operate in a hostile environment.

“As you can see, the queues are back and this is the second time we are witnessing it this year. However, this one is peculiar in the sense that for a particular reason, IPMAN members decided to shut their stations.

“This is not because we are on strike, but because we can no longer do business under this condition.”

Akinrinade said that IPMAN members ought to be getting supply from the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) and had made payments of over N1 billion since October 2021.

He said that the products are yet to be delivered, forcing members to patronise private depots for products while at the same time servicing loans borrowed from banks for their money with PPMC.

“Now, these private depot owners have increased the ex-depot price of PMS from N148.17 to N162 per litre. That is the amount they are selling to us. When you factor in the handling charge, transportation and running cost of our stations, you will see that even within Lagos, the minimum we can retail petrol is about N180 per litre.

“We want Nigerians to know that IPMAN members are patriotic citizens and we are not out to sabotage the effort of government because we know this hike in petroleum products prices is not peculiar to Nigeria.

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“The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has disrupted the supply chain and the Nigerian government is doing its best to mitigate its impact on our nation.”

He called on the government to direct the private depots to revert to the old ex-depot price for PMS or deregulate the downstream sector to allow market forces determine the price.

Akinrinade also advised the government to expedite action on the rehabilitation of the nation’s refineries in order to increase the domestic refining capacity.

He further called for the resumption of pumping products through the PPMC Ejigbo depot, which would enable IPMAN members get supply at a cheaper cost.

Majority of the filling stations are not selling petrol in Lagos now, even as long queues surfaced in the few stations selling with both private and commercial motorists complaining about the situation.

A motorist, Godwin Eke, said that the return of fuel queues is not good for the economy.

“We are spending hours here queuing to buy fuel when we could have been doing something more productive with our time. I have not been to my shop since morning because I want to fill my tank, which will last me for the week.”

A commercial bus driver, Aliyu Dawodu, said the scarcity is not good for business, especially as the drivers cannot increase their fares, even as Ayorinde Cardoso, Zonal Operations Controller, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, advised the public not to engage in panic buying.

“There is sufficient fuel at the depots and jetties. As at today (Monday) we have a total of 234,920,127 litres of PMS in various depots in Lagos. “In addition, we have four vessels in Lagos jetties discharging 186,753,650 litres of PMS.”

Source: NAN.

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