From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
The Northern Independent Petroleum Marketers Forum has expressed deep concern over the failure of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to settle their outstanding bridging claims.
The claims, amounting to the sum of N250 billion, represented the cost of transportation of petroleum products from the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company depots to the approved zones, according to the Chairman of the Marketers Forum, Musa Yahaya Maikifi.
Speaking at the end of their review meeting in Kano, he stressed that the unpaid claims were threatening their businesses as their members could no longer afford to supply and sell the product at their various outlets in the region.
He warned that the pending claims would have adverse effects on the distribution and availability of the petroleum product in the entire northern region if it is not addressed.
The Secretary of the Forum Jarma Mustapha, while speaking to the press, traced the bridging claims to the era of the defunct Petroleum Equalization Fund.
“We have outstanding bridging claims up to the day when the end of the deregulation was announced by the new President. As the new deregulation regime had started now, we are faced with difficulties such as lack of capacity and lack of capital to continue our businesses because our capital is trapped with the defunct Petroleum Equalization Fund.”
He sought the intervention of President Bola Tinubu, imploring him to use his office to direct the relevant agency to pay them their money and save their businesses from imminent collapse.
He assured that they would adopt diplomacy to get their money paid, but hinted that they would consider all other options if they failed to get their money paid.