HEADLINE
IPMAN threatens court action against NNPC over failure to supply products eight months after payment
From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Mosinmi Depot, Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State, on Wednesday, raised concerns over the continued refusal of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to supply members of the Association with products eight months after payment.
IPMAN also accused the NNPC of using the money deposited for the supply by its members through the Lagos D.P.O, to run its retailing Mega Stations across the South West.
The Association lamented that the failure to make petroleum products available to the Corporation has caused anguish for its members as they obtained bank loans to pay for the products.
Speaking with newsmen in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, IPMAN Chairman, Mosinmi Depot, Femi Adelaja, lamented that his members have been groaning under the toll of accumulating bank loan interests, threatening to drag the NNPC to court next month if it fails to make the products they paid for since November 2022 and January 2023 when they were due for supplies.
Adelaja said it was disheartening on the part of the management of NNPC Mosinmi Depot to exhibit the traits of a fraudulent organization by deliberately refusing to make supplies available to his members, whose businesses have been surviving on bank loans.
He disclosed that each IPMAN member who applied for supplies of the petroleum products has had to pay the adjustable sum of N25m per supply of a 45,000 litres trailer truck since June when NNPC directed them to do so, yet, no supply was made by the Corporation.
“Each IPMAN member had paid the initial sum of N7.740m for the usual supply of 45,000 litres of petroleum products. But after the removal of the subsidy in June 2023, NNPC increased the money to N25 Million per truck and we were asked to balance up. We had complied and each member paid N25m 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 Corporation 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, which would charge interest.
“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, it is still not making any supply to our members”, the IPMAN chairman stated
Adelaja, however, called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as well as other relevant anti-graft agencies to quickly wade into the matter before NNPC would succeed in forcing IPMAN into bankruptcy.