FRESH FUEL CRISIS LOOMS. AS FG STILL OWE OIL MARKETERS N70BILLION

Another round of fuel crisis is brewing as major Nigerian Oil marketers are claiming the Federal Government have failed in it's promise pay them outstanding debts.

Oil marketers, under the auspices of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), according to a report today have voiced out the government’s inability to disburse the outstanding payments due to its members for the import of petrol under the Petroleum Subsidy Fund scheme, warning that it could lead to another round of fuel scarcity if not promptly resolved.

In a letter addressed to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the association, through its Executive Secretary, Mr. Thomas Olawore, stated despite previous assurance from the government to reimburse marketers the Under Recovery due to them as verified by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), the government has till date failed to honour its agreement.

The marketers stated that despite government commitment and assurances, the industry to date has only received approximately N30billion in Forex differential claims out of the N100billion owed. In the same vein, only N345billion has been received in core subsidy payments covering payments up to Q2, 2014. The letter noted, the total amount due to marketers based on all claims verified by the PPPRA is in the region of N270 billion but revealed that only N200 billion was earmarked for them in the 2015 budget, this according to MOMAN constituted a ”great cause of concern” for her members.

Similarly, MOMAN enumerated that the delays in the payment of the verified sums has ensured the marketers cannot fulfill their financial and non-financial obligations. Olawore warned that the marketers who are currently experiencing “commercial hardship” as a result of cash flow constraints caused by these delayed payments and compounded by devaluation of the naira, higher inflation, and increase in lending rates might unfortunately down tools if this impasse is not resolved.

The consequences would include a significant scale down in petroleum products supply into the country and MOMAN members being left with no option but to streamline overhead costs and workforce “in the very immediate future.” Consequently, the body requested the federal government to urgently redeem the understanding that it had of about the plan to implement the terms of the petroleum subsidy fund scheme by doing the following:

-That the Ministry of Finance issues authorised marketers whose cargoes have been cleared by PPPRA with Sovereign Debt Notes for immediate payment of outstanding principal sums.