The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has called for the establishment of an a petroleum energy bank in Nigeria.
The call was made in Abuja last week by the national publicity secretary of IPMAN, Mr Chinedu Ukadike, during a chat with journalists.
According to Ukadike, such bank would provide easier access to credit facilities and help stabilise the oil sector. He identified inadequate financing, high interest rates, price volatility and limited supply sources as major challenges confronting independent marketers in the downstream oil sector following the removal of fuel subsidy.
He noted that subsidy removal led to a sharp increase in the cost of petroleum products, placing heavy financial pressure on marketers.
Ukadike further explained that the cost of purchasing 45,000 litres of petroleum products rose from about N8 million to over N50 million after deregulation. “It made it difficult for many independent marketers to sustain operations.
One of the major challenges in the oil sector is finance for independent marketers. “Immediately after the subsidy removal the monetary value of products increased by over 400 per cent,” he said.
The IPMAN spokesman further explained that many marketers now pull resources to buy products from depots in order to keep their filling stations running.
He also decried what he described as unhealthy competition among depot owners, importers and independent marketers.
He alleged that some importers sell petroleum products at lower prices in their own retail outlets while selling at higher rates to independent marketers, and made it difficult for them to compete.
