Concerns have been made by petroleum marketers regarding the shutdown of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) portal, which was used to purchase Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol), against dealers. This means that dealers are unable to register for the commodity.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Chinedu Ukadike, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria’s spokesperson, revealed this.
He claims that over 2,000 tickets are still pending for marketers to purchase 45,000 liters of gasoline.
He made a suggestion that the state of affairs might result in another nationwide fuel shortage.
Since the portal is currently down, I am unable to confirm the price at this time.
Over 2,000 tickets have been issued for 45,000 liters of gasoline. By multiplying 45,000 by 2,000, you can determine how many million liters it will be. You understand that I don’t work with NNPCL and I have no idea what is on their system, so this is simply an estimate,” Ukadike said.
He continued by saying that 45,000 liters of PMS cost about N39.5 million, which multiplied by 2,000 equals N79 billion.
Olufemi Soneye, a spokesman for NNPCL, responded to the news by acknowledging that the state-owned company has a large backlog that needs to be cleared.
According to him, the portal’s closure was done to avoid the business keeping advertisers’ money on hand for too long.
Soneye promised that the portal would be reopened shortly, although he did not specify the exact date.
“We must clear up a large backlog. The closure is aimed to avoid us from keeping marketers’ funds for a lengthy period,” Soneye had explained.
“Once the backlog has been adequately cleared, it will be reopened. We’re trying to take care of it as quickly as we can,” he said.
Nigerians are currently grappling with exorbitant energy expenses.
Remember that NNPCL lifted the product from Dangote Refinery and announced a new statewide price rise for gasoline in September 2024.
Across the country, Nigerians typically pay between N950 and N1,100 per liter for gasoline.