The ongoing fuel scarcity in Nigeria has caused a lot of problems for citizens, and over 9,000 oil marketers are on the verge of losing their operating licenses. The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to extend its final deadline for licensing renewal to July, and it has also appealed to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority to release 9,000 already processed licenses to its members. The association made this request to help ease the tension of panic buying by members of the public, which has led to an aggravation of the present scarcity of petroleum products.
The NNPCL had placed a deadline of April 15, 2024, for marketers to renew their licenses or risk closure to access their customer express portals for the purchase of petroleum products from NNPC Retail Limited. However, IPMAN has requested an extension, stating that it would enable marketers to reconcile their licenses and reduce panic buying by members of the public. The association is aware of the slow pace of marketers' license renewal by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and is appealing for the extension to avoid the impending closure of their customer express portals for the purchase of petroleum products from NNPC Retail Limited.
In a release signed by the National Public Relations Officer, Chief Chinedu Ukadike on Thursday in Abuja, IPMAN stated that the latest information reaching them from the NMDPRA indicates that they have already processed more than 9,000 out of the 15,000 licenses expected to process for its members within this period. Marketers are fast-tracking the processing of their licenses to avoid being shut out from the portal unduly.
The association is, therefore, using this opportunity to appeal to the management of the NMDPRA and NNPC Retail Limited to release the processed licenses and extend the deadline for delisting of marketers from their express portals. If their request is granted, it will ease the tension of panic buying by members of the public, thus reducing the present scarcity of petroleum products.
In a telephone interview, Ukadike gave further clarity, stating that the release is to appeal to the NNPCL and NMPDRA to please extend the final deadline to July so that it would enable them to reconcile their licenses so that they will not be unduly shut out of the portal.