Fresh crisis looms as Oil marketers threathen to proceed on strike, insist on N175/litre

Fresh crisis looms as Oil marketers threathen to proceed on strike, insist on N175/litre

Oil marketers under the aegis of Abuja-Suleja IPMAN, on Wednesday warned that their proposed strike would go ahead next week if the government fails to clear the bridging claims for transportation of petrol being owed marketers.

Theconscienceng.com had reported last week oil marketers warned that Nigeria could witness “the mother of all queues” soon if the Federal Government fails to pay the 12 months bridging claims being owed operators in the downstream oil sector.

IPMAN had also denied being paid N74bn by the Federal Government as bridging claims for the transportation of petroleum products.

The Federal Government through its Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority had said last week that it paid N74bn as bridging claims to oil marketers for the transportation of petroleum products across the country in seven months.

But the Secretary, Abuja-Suleja IPMAN, Mohammed Shuaibu, whose unit covers Abuja, Kogi, Niger and parts of Nasarawa and Kaduna, told our correspondent on Wednesday that though some members had confirmed the receipt of payments, a host of others had yet to receive theirs.

“Few of our members have confirmed receiving alerts, but the majority have not been paid and so the decision to embark on the mother of all strike still stands, except we get our payments,” he stated.

Shuaibu added, “Many independent marketers are closing shop and because of these debts. We cannot continue to fold our hands. We are sorry about the hardship, but the government has to pay us, otherwise we will withdraw our services.”

Reacting to the concerns, the spokesperson, NMDPRA, Kimchi Apollo, earlier told our correspondent that the petrol price had not changed from the approved N165/litre price, as he also stated that efforts were on to settle to bridging claims being owed the oil marketers.

Meanwhile, there were indications that long queues were beginning to resurface in Lagos State and its environs on Wednesday, as findings showed that filling stations were beginning to sell petrol above N175 per litre.

So far, the Federal Government and oil marketers are still at loggerheads as to how much a litre of petrol should be sold, and marketers are beginning to sell products at prices not approved by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.