The Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) has empathized with Nigerians on the current distribution hitches in the supply of premium motor spirit (petrol) from the various petrol stations dispensing at N165 per litre.
The depot owners conveyed their feelings in a statement on Tuesday and attributed the current challenge to the on-going Russian / Ukraine War which has also impacted
negatively on global and local fuel and food supply.
The statement said the local running costs of operating various fuel depots have gone up astronomically.
It said:”The petrol we supply, is sourced, solely from NNPC Limited’s marketing subsidiary, Petroleum Products Marketing Company Limited (PPMC) for sale to the public at the regulated price of N165 per litre. This purchase is made by depot operators with funds sourced with high bank interest charges, alongside increased costs of hiring vessels, with which we deliver the fuel cargoes to our depots.
“These costs have doubled within the period of this Russian/Ukraine war. Added to this is the scarcity of bunkers (ship’s fuel). We also experienced astronomical increases in the cost of diesel used to power equipment and machinery in our various depots and our retail outlets.
“Depot owners and the government have continued to struggle over time to sustain supply of PMS at the current pump price of N165 per litre despite the huge subsidy cost to Government and abysmal margins to the depot owners. But for its suspension, the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 would have provided an ideal enabling environment by creating the free market in which demand and supply would affect fuel pump price”
The statement added the association is working with NNPC Limited, through its marketing subsidiary, to ensure availability of products nationwide.
