Business
Marketers kick as NNPCL delays fuel supply
Marketers kick as NNPCL delays fuel supply
Oil marketers under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria have berated the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited for alleged delay in the supply of petroleum products.
As a result, the marketers said they had been forced to boycott the NNPCL to source fuel from private depot owners at a higher cost.
In an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, the National Vice President of IPMAN, Hammed Fashola, asked the Federal Government to review the current distribution pattern with a view to giving priority to IPMAN members.
According to him, independent marketers own 80 per cent of the filling stations in Nigeria and, as such, deserve the “lion share” in fuel allocation.
Fashola said, “More so, we buy products from NNPCL cash and carry. We don’t enjoy any credit facility with the NNPCL. There are times we pay for products, and you don’t get the products for two or three months. You have your money in the coffers of the NNPCL, which means they are trading with our money.
“If I am not exaggerating, we should be talking of over N300bn, when you consider the number of marketers all over Nigeria. Our money is always there trapped, while we keep struggling to get fuel.
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He narrated that marketers usually pay through the NNPCL portal with the hope of getting the product in two three days; but “that two three days will turn into months if they don’t have products or they are out of stock, you have to wait, and your money will be there.”
Fashola emphasised that IPMAN members “have our money in billions in the NNPCL wallet. Apart from that, we have invested so much, especially the northern marketers, now their money is trapped, in billions. They cannot even afford to buy products again because of that money there”.
He lamented that some marketers, who borrowed from banks could not pay back their loans, stating that many operators were being forced to put up their stations for sale “to offset debts because marketers are going through a lot.
He stated further that, “When NNPCL open their portal and you pay in, with the hope of getting your product soon. In the process, there will be delay; maybe you pay for two trucks and you could not get it in three weeks or one month, you cannot leave your station idle. You will be forced to go to private depot and buy, just to wet your station. If the product is flowing, nobody will go to private depot.”
Fashola said the association was communicating with the NNPCL on the trapped capital.
“We are always in touch with the NNPCL. We have a communication channel. When they receive, they give the little they can give. One thing we discovered through our interaction with them is that they have their own constraints too. With the sharing formula with the passing of the PIA, they are only entitled to 30 per cent, because they are trying to avoid monopoly of market, that’s a problem on their own side too.
“If they get 30 per cent, and out of the 30 per cent, they are giving IPMAN, there will be problems. They have their retail outlets too. They have acquired Oando and the stations they got from Oando are not less than 900, this in addition to the ones they have before. But I believe they must do something about their sharing formula. If we have to take from the NNPCL, I think they have to increase what they are giving the NNPC Retail.
When contacted, the NNPCL spokesman, Femi Soneye, said he was not aware of any IPMAN fund trapped in the NNPCL account.
According to him, IPMAN has an appropriate channel through which it communicates with the company.
Soneye requested that whoever makes such allegations should provide evidence.
“I am not aware of anything like that. IPMAN has an appropriate channel through which they communicate with us. Whoever makes that allegation in IPMAN should provide the evidence. We still had a meeting with IPMAN today (Monday) and nothing of such was mentioned,” he told our correspondent in a telephone conversation.
Marketers kick as NNPCL delays fuel supply
Business
Finally, NERC unbundles TCN, creates new system operator
Finally, NERC unbundles TCN, creates new system operator
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has set up the Nigerian Independent System Operator of Nigeria Limited (NISO) as it unbundles the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
The transmission leg of the power sector has over the years been seen as weakest link with obsolete equipment.
The unbundling announcement is contained in an Order dated April 30, 2023 and jointly signed by NERC chairman, Sanusi Garba, and vice chairman, Musiliu Oseni.
By this order, the TCN is expected to transfer all market and system operation functions to the new company.
The commission had previously issued transmission service provider (TSP) and system operations (SO) licences to the TCN, in accordance with the Electric Power Sector Reform Act.
The Electricity Act 2023, which came into effect on June 9, provided clearer guidelines for the incorporation and licensing of the independent system operator (ISO), as well as the transfer of assets and liabilities of TCN’s portion of the ISO.
In the circular, the commission ordered the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to incorporate, unfailingly on May 31, a private company limited by shares under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020.
NERC said the company is expected “to carry out the market and system operation functions stipulated in the Electricity Act and the terms and conditions of the system operation licence issued to the TCN.
“The name of the company shall, subject to availability at Corporate Affairs Commission, be the Nigerian Independent System Operator of Nigeria Limited (“NISO”),” NERC said.
Citing the object clause of the NISO’s memorandum of association (MOU) as provided in the Electricity Act, NERC said the company would “hold and manage all assets and liabilities pertaining to market and system operation on behalf of market participants and consumer groups or such stakeholders as the Commission may specify.”
Business
Naira depreciates again, trades at N1,402/$
Naira depreciates again, trades at N1,402/$
The Nigerian currency, naira, on Thursday slightly depreciated at the official market, trading at N1,402.67 to the dollar.
Data from the official trading platform of the FMDQ Exchange, a platform that oversees the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), showed that the naira lost N11.71
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This represents a 0.84 per cent loss when compared to the previous trading date on Tuesday April 30, when it exchanged at 1,390.96 to a dollar.
However, the total daily turnover increased to 232.84 million dollars on Thursday, up from 225.36 million dollars recorded on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, at the Investor’s and Exporter’s (I&E) window, the naira traded between 1,445.00 and N1,299.42 against the dollar.
Naira depreciates again, trades at N1,402/$
Auto
Appeal court takes over NURTW case as NIC withdraws
Appeal court takes over NURTW case as NIC withdraws
The National Industrial Court has withdrawn from a case involving Alhaji Najeem Usman Yasin, Board of Trustees chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), and Alhaji Tajudeen Ibikunle Baruwa’s ambition to return as president of the union over lack of jurisdiction.
The industrial court’s decision was made to avoid conflict with the Court of Appeal, where the matter is already being heard.
Before the NIC announced its decision to hands-off the case, the defendants’ counsel, Mr. O.I. Olorundare SAN, had informed the court that the matter is currently before the Court of Appeal, Abuja division, and that the industrial court could not continue to adjudicate on the same matter.
The counsel cited authorities to support his claim, adding that the National Industrial Court does not have concurrent jurisdiction with the Court of Appeal.
The presiding judge, O.O. Oyewunmi, struck out the case, stating that the Appeal Court had taken over the matter and that the Industrial Court must respect the hierarchy of courts.
Alhaji Yasin and six others took the case to the Appeal Court, challenging the decision of the industrial court recognising a delegates’ conference held on May 24, 2023, where Baruwa was proclaimed as President of the union for a second term in office.
With the latest NIC judgement, both parties will now proceed to defend their positions at the Court of Appeal and await the final judgement.
Finally, NERC unbundles TCN, creates new system operator
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