Fuel Price Increase: How DSS resolved dispute between NNPCL, independent marketers

The Department of State Services (DSS) has successfully mediated a resolution between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), which will allow oil marketers to resume lifting Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from NNPCL depots at a reduced price.

This agreement was reached following a peace meeting led by DSS Director General, Adeola Ajayi, aimed at addressing IPMAN’s concerns over high fuel costs and delayed payments that had threatened to disrupt fuel distribution across the country.

The meeting, which included representatives from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and NNPCL, resulted in a decision to lower the lifting costs for marketers and settle the N15 billion owed to them by NNPCL.

This resolution followed weeks of tension after IPMAN disclosed that NNPCL was purchasing petrol from the Dangote Refinery at N898 per litre but selling it to independent marketers at N1,010 per litre in Lagos, and even higher in other regions. IPMAN, which controls over 70% of filling stations across the country, had threatened to cease operations unless the price disparity was addressed.

The national president of IPMAN, Abubakar Maigandi, voiced the association’s frustration, noting that the NNPCL had been holding onto payments from independent marketers for over three months, while simultaneously selling them products at higher rates than it paid to Dangote.

However, with the DSS mediation, the parties have now reached an agreement.

Chinedu Ukadike, the National Publicity Secretary of IPMAN, confirmed that the meeting helped resolve the impasse, allowing independent marketers to begin lifting products and addressing the outstanding debt owed by NNPCL.

“We were invited by the Director of DSS to resolve the issue between IPMAN and NNPCL regarding pricing and product supply from the Dangote Refinery. As a result, NNPCL has agreed to reduce prices and allow marketers to load products worth N15 billion immediately,” Ukadike told The PUNCH.

In addition, the NMDPRA has agreed to issue import licenses to IPMAN, enabling the association to either import fuel directly or purchase from the Dangote Refinery, in line with the government’s full deregulation of the oil sector.

While the NMDPRA spokesperson, George Ene-Ita, claimed not to be aware of the meeting or the license approvals, the agreement is seen as a significant step towards stabilizing fuel supply and addressing long-standing concerns within the sector.