Date: 2021-02-12

Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Kwara State chapter said its members would from Friday suspend the sale of fuel to members of the public in the state.

The association said its action was informed by the recent unfriendly policy of the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

Addressing reporters in Ilorin, the state capital, NNPC Depot chairman of the association in Ilorin, Alhaji Abdullateef Kamaja, said stakeholders were not duly consulted before the new policy of e-payment was rolled out.

He said, "The NNPC also directs marketers to provide some other prerequisites like bulk purchase agreement renewal. The procurement involves high cost and a lot of bureaucratic bottlenecks."

Kamaja, therefore, urged the PPMC to rescind the decision, noting that it was too sudden as the marketers were not consulted beforehand.

He said, "The implementation was also so sudden that no marketer could have made any effort to comply with NNPC guidelines. This to us, is viewed as a means to paralyse IPMAN members' efforts to contribute to national economic development.

“Before the introduction of the present policy, there had been many paid tickets from marketers running into billions of Naira in the coffers of the NNPC which were not attended to. Several factors like

network failure and inability of marketers to have code payment militated against the former procedure. ?

"It is hereby wished that the current directive is abrogated pending a

proper consultation and deliberation with marketers. "It is imperative for the NNPC to always consult with the marketers before bringing up any policy as this will ensure harmonious and peaceful relationship between her and the marketers who act as the bridge to the consuming masses.

"If our herein stated suggestions are not met, we may have no option than to down tools by closing down our stations."