Femi Adi/Kaduna
Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of State Petroleum/NNPC Group Managing Director
Kaduna Chapter of Independent Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria , IPMAN, on Thursady blamed the lingering fuel scarcity across the country on failure of Minister of State Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu to tackle the corruption in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.
The marketers, who said the extortions and other sharp practices at the PPMC/NNPC seemed to be defiling all interventions by successive administrations in Nigeria, expressed worry over the new cabal at the corporation who extort monies from IPMAN/ AMFSON members before allocating petroleum products to them.
Speaking at a press conference held in Kaduna Thursday, an ex-officio of IPMAN, Bako Abdullahi Yelwa, who spoke on behalf of their members, said as marketers they had discovered that efforts to curb corruption in NNPC by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is not yielding the desired result.
He, however, said there is need for President Buhari to probe staff members of PPMC/NNPC, who have devised new ways of extorting monies from petroleum products marketers.
He further explained that “PPMC staff are frustrating Independent Marketers. Why will they ask for a percentage of our profit before giving us allocation and when we refuse, they frustrate the process of getting our allocation? They only give product allocation to marketers that have given them a share of their profit upfront.
“For example, an Independent Marketer gets an average of two allocations of petrol (PMS) monthly and the profit from each truck is N80,000, and I ask, how can N160,000 pay all my staff, service and maintain the stations and still keep me in business?
“There’s nothing to write home about Kachikwus’ six months in office, his only achievements are confusion and contemplating the award of contracts for building of new empty PPMC/NNPC Mega filling stations with the aim of exterminating the existing Indigenous Independent Marketers despite their huge contributions towards the growth and development of the nation.”
Yelwa further stated that “with the present crashing down of crude oil price globally to its worst level of below $35 per barrel, Kachikwu should concentrate on constructing new simple modular refineries and hasten to reactivate the existing ones so that our local production can rise to cope with the nation’s petroleum products demands or even beyond. This will create more employment opportunities for many Nigerians in addition to boosting the nation’s economy.
“We are forced to believe that Kachikwu is out to destabilise the Indigenous Independent Petroleum Marketers in Nigeria and cover up his masters looting and cheating from Nigerians.”
He advised the President, who is also the minister of petroleum resources, to put on hold all plans to build more NNPC mega stations until all refineries have been turned around.
He also advised that all independent marketers and PPMC/NNPC affiliate stations should be supplied adequately with products, adding “this will help curb the new cabal in the oil and gas sector, made up of PPMC/NNPC staff, from frustrating his efforts to rid the petroleum sector of corruption.”
Yelwa blamed what he termed “the renewed rot in NNPC” on the Minister of state for Petroleum, who recently said the corporation was in the process of building 109 additional NNPC Mega stations.
While noting that a section of the industry sees this as a welcome development, another section sees it otherwise. He said the marketers see it as an unnecessary waste of scarce resources and a ploy to destroy IPMAN and the Association Of Mega Filling Stations Owners Of Nigeria (AMFSON).
On the suit instituted against IPMAN by PPMC/NNPC, he said: “For the PPMC to sue IPMAN to court, claiming that they don’t know us and they don’t have any business with us, speaks volumes. It is under Kachikwu Ibe that we are hearing this. How can you claim you don’t know us and you have been doing business with us for over 30 years?
“Most Petroleum Products Marketers believe that this move was borne out of selfishness and wickedness and flagrant disregard for the rule of law.”
He equally wondered why the minister was thinking of establishing more mega stations when they have not been able to satisfy NNPC affiliate stations with products.
Yelwa queried: “Is it because he knows that we are the only ones that can expose all his corrupt practices since he was made the GMD and now the minister?”
He also alleged that since he (Kachikwu) became minister he has been giving kerosene allocations to his relations, friends and cronies.
“I challenge anybody to ask any marketer if they have gotten allocation,” Yelwa said.
IPMAN knocks Kachikwu over fuel scarcity, corruption in NNPC
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