Fuel Price Hike: How DSS Mediated Conflict Between NNPCL and Independent Marketers.

The Department of State Services (DSS) has successfully intervened in the ongoing conflict between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN). continue Reading>>>...CONTINUE READING>>>

This intervention led to an agreement that will allow independent oil marketers to begin lifting Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from NNPCL depots at a reduced price.The resolution came after a peace meeting arranged by DSS Director General, Adeola Ajayi, who stepped in to address IPMAN’s complaints about high prices and delayed payments, which had threatened to disrupt fuel distribution nationwide.

During the meeting, which included key representatives from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and NNPCL, both parties agreed to reduce the price for independent marketers.

Additionally, the N15 billion owed to these marketers by NNPCL would be addressed.The agreement followed weeks of tension after IPMAN revealed that NNPCL was buying petrol from the Dangote Refinery at N898 per litre but selling it to independent marketers for N1,010 per litre in Lagos, with prices even higher in other regions.continue Reading>>>

Controlling over 70% of the country’s filling stations, IPMAN had threatened to halt operations if the price imbalance wasn’t resolved.IPMAN’s national president, Abubakar Maigandi, expressed the association’s frustration, highlighting that NNPCL had been withholding payments for more than three months while charging higher prices for petrol than what it paid to the refinery.

Thanks to the DSS mediation, both parties reached a compromise. IPMAN’s National Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Ukadike, confirmed that the meeting was successful, allowing marketers to start lifting fuel and resolving the outstanding N15 billion debt from NNPCL.

“We were called by the DSS Director to resolve pricing and supply issues between IPMAN and NNPCL, especially regarding fuel from the Dangote Refinery. NNPCL has now agreed to lower prices and let us load products worth N15 billion immediately,” Ukadike told *The PUNCH*.Additionally, the NMDPRA agreed to issue import licenses to IPMAN, allowing them to either import fuel directly or buy from the Dangote Refinery, following the government’s full deregulation of the oil sector.continue Reading>>>

While NMDPRA spokesperson George Ene-Ita claimed no knowledge of the meeting or license approvals, the agreement is seen as a major step toward stabilizing fuel supply and addressing long-standing issues in the industry.