Oil Marketers Accuses Petrol Drivers Of Sabotaging Distribution With N23,000 Illegal Levy

The National Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Yakubu Suleiman, has accused the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) association of sabotaging fuel distribution.

Suleiman said petroleum tanker drivers illegally imposed N23,000 levy on fuel distribution, charging the fee on each truck loaded at the depot. 

IPMAN’s spokesperson asked for the intervention of the federal government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to bring an end to what the oil marketers described as illegal fees. 

He hinted that the extortion by petroleum tanker drivers has been ongoing for about 10 years despite pleas, and this has been affecting the oil marketers’ profit margins.

“We have been fighting extortion by petroleum tanker drivers for about 10 years now and we have been telling them that this market is based on profit but our pleas have fallen on deaf ears,” he said in a report by NAN.

He said IPMAN thought the removal of fuel subsidy will bring an end to the extortion, however, the tanker drivers increased their demand. 

“They have been extorting different amounts from our members; from N200,000 and we thought that with the removal of subsidy, the era of extortion will go, unfortunately, more have been added. 

“Reports have reached our secretariat of another levy of N23,000 being collected by PTD from our members and we do not know what that money is for.” Suleiman stated further. 

Suleiman disclosed that prior to the removal of the fuel subsidy, it cost IPMAN members about N7 million to load a truck of petrol, however, following the removal, it now costs oil marketers N23 million to load and transport fuel to their retail stations. 

He noted that: “We make a profit of only N500,000 on each truck of PMS we now buy at above N23 million and it can take us days or weeks to sell. 

“Inside that N500,000, there are other logistics that we must take care of, especially providing fuel for the trucks that will carry the product, providing fuel for the engine that will carry light at the stations, and so on. 

“At the end of the day, we are left with about N200,000; we do it out of patriotism and support to the FG and NNPC, then from nowhere, our members are paying N23,000 for what they don’t know about.”