Osamagbe Imadiyi
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, or NMDPRA, has failed to pay its members N100 billion in debt, prompting the Depot Chairmen Forum of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, or IPMAN, to threaten to cancel its operations.
Alhaji Yahaya Alhassan, the chairman of the IPMAN Depot Chairmen Forum, signed a statement stating that NMDPRA has adhered to the agreement made with the forum when the matter was brought up last year. Frustrated, the group accused NMDPRA of purposefully ignoring its members.
“The management of the NMDPRA has purposefully disregarded our request, despite their explicit promises to reimburse us, one year after our last demand as a forum, asking for the payment of over N100 billion owed to our members in bridging and NTA claims by the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
At the stakeholders’ meeting held the night before the most recent strike action announced by NARTO, the NMDPRA made one of those pledges. The Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) made the same IPMAN bridging claims a part of their demands at that stakeholders meeting before the strike action was canceled. The NMDPRA promised to offset the bridging claims within 40 days, despite the presence of the National Security Advisor, Mal. Nuhu Ribadu, and the DG DSS, Mr. Adeola Ajayi. But 40 days have turned into months, and we still have no chance of getting paid.
Because of this outstanding debt, the nine Northern depots—Jos, Gusau, Minna, Suleja, Kaduna, Kano, Gombe, Yola, and Maiduguri—have been totally grounded.
Alhassan said: “It is necessary to reiterate for the sake of clarity that the money owed to us is that of marketers and was taken out of our account when we paid for the products in order to pay our bridging allowances. Additionally, we have continued to document member deaths, business closures, employee layoffs, and commercial banks occupying their business spaces as a result of the NMDPRA’s refusal to reimburse us.
