9,000 Nigerian oil marketers beg for the government’s intervention to lose their marketing licenses. The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria urges the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to extend its licensing renewal deadline from April 15, 2024, to July 2024.
On Thursday, May 3, 2024, Chief Chinedu Ukadike, the National Public Relations Officer of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association in Abuja, released a signed statement pleading with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority for the release of the readily available license to its members.
He urges them to double all efforts and speed up the pace of license renewal in response to the IPMAN call to action.
IPMAN, in a statement, requested a deadline extension to help marketers reconcile with their licenses and reduce the panic rush for fuel across various states in the country.
The statement reads, “The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria is up-to-date with current developments in the downstream sector of our petroleum industry and wishes to state that the latest information reaching us from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority states that they have already processed more than 9,000 out of the 15,000 licenses they are expected to process for our members within this period.
“Marketers are fast-tracking the processing of their licenses to avoid the impending closure of their customer express portals for purchase of petroleum products from NNPC Retail Limited.”
The South-West Regional Coordinator, Ayo Cardoso, responded to their plea, saying it would be looked into and action would be initiated soon. However, on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, IPMAN threatened to shut down 30,000 stations operated by IPMAN members across the country if the Federal Government failed to meet the deadline to pay the N200bn debt it owed marketers.
