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From Uche Usim, Abuja
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on Thursday said it disbursed N58 billion from December 2021 and till date to oil marketers as bridging cost of reticulating petrol across the country.
The authority made the disclosure in a statement as a way of exonerating itself from complicities leading to the current scathing scarcity that has forced motorists to sleep at filling stations.
It also said it to counter the claims of some oil marketers who insist that the Federal Government owes them N500 billion bridge claims covering the last nine months.
Nonetheless, NMDPRA explained that the administration of bridging payment was a continuous process as hundreds of trucks load and discharge products daily thereby adding to the claims.
“Since December 2021, the NMDPRA has made several payments to marketers whose claims have been verified. So far, over N58 billion has been disbursed to oil marketers out of which about N34 billion went directly to members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN).
“We wish to stress that the total amount disbursed so far is the highest ever paid within a six-months span by previous fund administrators, which implies that the reimbursement of marketer’s transportation differentials for petroleum products movement from depots to sales outlets is a priority to the NMDPRA.
“In addition, freight rates were recently reviewed upwards to reflect current market realities and stimulate investments in the transportation of petroleum products in the country to ensure uninterrupted distribution”, it stated.
The Authority added that some of the pending payments were due to the reluctance of marketers to reconcile their claims, in spite of the its continuous appeal to come for reconciliation whenever there are discrepancies.
It reiterated that there was sufficient petrol in the bank to last 47 days, translating to about 2.65 billion litres.
“Therefore there is no need to panic as the current situation being experienced in some parts of the country will soon stabilise. To address this, some loading depots have been directed to operate on extended hours to enable increased truck-out. In the interim, the vessel discharge operations have been reviewed to fast-track truck loading and distribution in order to meet increased demand. We wish to state that the Authority remains committed to honour and process legitimate and verified bridging claims to ensure product availability nationwide”, it added.
The Chairman of IPMAN, Kano State chapter, Bashir Dan-Mallam, earlier in the week urged Nigerians to brace for a more severe crisis in the coming days, saying the NMDPRA had failed to pay marketers bridging claims of over N500 billion in nine months.
The claims cover the cost of transporting petrol to the hinterland. It allows marketers who still sell government regulated rates to make profits at predetermined margins.
