The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mosinmi Depot, Ogun State, on Wednesday, raised a concern over the continued refusal of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to supply it members with products eight months after payment was made.
IPMAN also accused the NNPCL of using the money deposited for petroleum product supplies by its members through the Lagos DPO to run its retailing Mega Stations across the South-West at the expense of the bank loans obtained by its members who would need to pay back the loans with interests.
The association, therefore, threatened to drag the oil company to court by September should NNPCL continue to deny its members supplies of the petroleum products earlier paid for through the Lagos DPO since November 2022 and January 2023 when they were due for supplies.
Speaking with journalists in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, IPMAN Mosinmi Depot chairman, Otunba Femi Adelaja, said it was disheartening on the part of the management of NNPCL Mosinmi Depot to exhibit the traits of a fraudulent organization by deliberately refusing to make supplies available to IPMAN members, whose businesses have been surviving on bank loans.
Otunba Adelaja explained that each IPMAN member, who applied for supplies of petroleum products, have had to pay the adjustable sum of N25million per supply of a 45,000-litre tanker since June when NNPC directed them to do so but till date were yet to receive anything from the oil company.
“Each IPMAN member had paid the initial sum of N7,740,000:00 for the usual supply of a 45,000-litre truck. But after the removal of the subsidy in June 2023, NNPC increased the money to N25million per truck and we were asked to balance up. We have complied and each member paid N25million which we all paid through the Lagos D.P.O.
“We were, however, surprised to see that NNPC would not give us any supply. Rather, the company has been busy using our deposits to run business for their various Mega Stations. They have refused to acknowledge that our businesses have been surviving on bank loans, who would charge interests on whatever amount released to each IPMAN member.
“So, what we are now saying is that we will be left with no other alternative than to drag NNPC before the court if by September the company is still not making any supply to our members,” the IPMAN chairman declared.
Adelaja also called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as well as other relevant anti-graft agencies to quickly wade into the matter before NNPCL would succeed at chasing his members out of business.
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