Oil Marketers Threaten Strike, Give FG Seven Days to Offset N100 Billion Debts

Oil Marketers under the banner of the Depot Chairmen Forum (DCF) of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) yesterday threatened to embark on a strike action if the N100 billion owed it by the federal government in ‘bridging claims’ is not paid.

The forum, in a communiqué issued in Abuja by its Chairman, Yahaya Alhassan, gave the federal government a seven-day ultimatum, warning that if the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) fails to make the payment within the stipulated time, marketers will halt the loading and distribution of petroleum products nationwide.

Alhasan said: “If NMDPRA does not pay our money within seven working days, we are going to withdraw our services all over the country and we are going to withdraw our tanks from loading and discharging. At the same moment, we are going to close all our stations across Nigeria.”

According to him, the marketers are now dissatisfied that a year after the demand for payment, the NMDPRA has continued to disregard the group, recalling that the regulator pledged to pay on the eve of the previous strike action launched by Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO).

He added: “We are extremely frustrated that one year after our last demand as a forum, requesting the payment of over N100 billion owed our members in bridging and claims by the NMDPRA, the management of the NMDPRA has deliberately ignored our request, even after making clear promises to pay us.”

Reading the communication, Alhasan voiced anger over the NMDPRA’s failure to satisfy the bridging claims, despite repeated commitments. The claims, which stretch back to 2024, he added, were withheld from marketers’ payments for products to repay bridging allowances.

“If NMDPRA doesn’t pay our money within seven days, we are going to withdraw our services across the nation,” he warned.

He revealed that Northern depots, comprising the Jos, Gusau, Minna, Suleja, Kaduna, Kano, Gombe, Yola and Maiduguri depot, had become entirely grounded due to this outstanding debt.

IPMAN also frowned on the 5 per cent charge imposed on its members by NMDPRA on the sale of gas stations, which they deemed as unlawful and anti-developmental. It stressed that the money were not government appropriations but cash that were withdrawn from payments made by its members to cover bridging allowances.

It highlighted that the extended non-payment of these loans had led to severe effects for its members, including the loss of lives, the closure of businesses, workforce layoffs and the takeover of business premises by commercial banks.

“These debts are not ours, they belong to marketers and were deducted from us at the point of payments for products. We have continued to face the dreadful repercussions of this failure to pay, and it has reached a critical point.

“The NMDPRA has no business acting as real estate agents, collecting commissions on the sale of petrol stations. This is just one of the many bizarre fees that we are being forced to pay, which are anti-developmental and unconstitutional,” it added.

Additionally, IPMAN highlighted to challenges in maintaining and rebuilding petrol shops due to extra excessive fees imposed by the NMDPRA. Members, they contended, are being punished for striving to match worldwide best practices by modernising their stores.

“And so, as IPMAN members, we go the extra mile to renovate our outlets occasionally, to meet with international best practices. However, the NMDPRA has also made this very difficult for us, as they have also subjected our members to paying odd charges whenever we think it fit to rebuild our petrol shops.

“These are just a few of the many distressing levies they have forced on us; these are not only anti-developmental, they are also unconstitutional, and we are demanding their immediate suspension,” the oil merchants continued.

The forum underlined that as law-abiding Nigerians, it believes that it has given the NMDPRA ample time to pay its cash in bulk and clear the bridging claims.

“But in view of their constant refusal, we have therefore decided to liaise with our sister organisations, the PTD and NARTO, in order to take collective action in due course. As members of IPMAN, it is crucial to clarify that we also own substantial numbers of petroleum tankers driven by the PTD, and we may be obliged to stop our tankers from loading petroleum goods in a view to demand the quick payment of our bridging and NTA claims.

“We hereby call on the federal government of Nigeria headed by President Bola Tinubu to fully intervene in these prolonged disputes between Depot Chairmen of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the NMDPRA. We shall not hesitate to promptly take action in due course if our demands are not granted immediately beginning from today Monday 24th February 2025,” the group stressed.

The oil marketers further stated that the NMDPRA had pledged to balance the bridging claims in 40 days even in the presence of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and the Director Department of State Service (DSS), Mr. Adeola Ajayi.

“For the avoidance of doubt, it is imperative to state again that this debt being owed us are monies belonging to marketers, and which were deducted from us at the point of payments for products, in order to settle our bridging allowances,” the organization added.