Oil Marketers, Depot Owners Clash Over 16.6bn Litre Alleged Fuel Diversion

Oil marketers and depot owners have clashed over allegations of diversion of 16.6 billion litres of fuel to neighbouring countries.

It was learned that the unabated fuel scarcity was partly due to the alleged diversion of products to neighbouring countries by marketers.

A top official of the Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DPPMAN) in a chat with The Punch alleged that about 46 million litres of petrol are being diverted daily.

He added that about 16.6 billion litres are allegedly being diverted annually, adding that Nigeria consumes 60 million litres of petrol daily.

“We had a meeting with the PPMC some weeks ago, and part of the complaints was that the volume we load is too high, forcing them to reduce the volume they give to us. From their records, they said marketers loaded 106 million litres per day as of April.

“Nigeria consumes 60 million litres per day, where are the remaining litres of fuel going? They are taken outside the country. That’s a product Nigeria is paying heavily to subsidise, and marketers are busy taking it out and denying Nigerians full benefits of what they pay for,” he said.

Reacting, the Executive Secretary of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Clement Isong, said its members operate a fully integrated business model, adding that it would be impossible to smuggle products out of the country.

He said: “They know who they are accusing, and it’s definitely not our members. We buy products from the NNPC to our depots, and then distribute them to our stations. So, they can’t be accusing major oil marketers of diversion because we run a fully integrated business model.”

Also reacting, the National Operations Controller of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Mike Osatuyi, denied the allegation.

Osatuyi denied the claim that IPMAN members were responsible for the smuggling of petroleum products to neighbouring countries.

“They should go and ask the Customs, police, NIA and others whether they see our members’ trucks carrying such products across the borders. Why are they accusing marketers of smuggling when we have those who are being paid to police our borders?” he said.