IPMAN, NMDPRA battle over purported payment of N74 billion to marketers

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) have returned to the trenches over the alleged payment of N74 billion transport claims.

While the management of NMDPRA claimed to have remitted the huge sum payment into the covers of the independent marketers, IPMAN is threatening legal action unless the downstream authority substantiates her claim.

Recall that the management of NMDPRA had on Wednesday, 29th July 2022, declared to have paid IPMAN N74 billion within the past seven months.

In a counter-reaction, the Chairman of IPMAN, Northern chapter, Alhaji Bashir Danmalam, debunked NMDPRA’s claim insisting that IPMAN has not received such an amount of money in the name of the subject matter.

Danmalam, who made IPMAN’s stands known while addressing journalists on Thursday in Kano, said the marketers would be left with no option but to seek redress.

Danmalam, who was reacting to the purported payment, said the claim was not true as their members were not paid unless the payment was made to “ghost marketers”.

The IPMAN chairman challenged the management of the NMDPRA to come up with the names of all the marketers who were paid to prove their claims.

“I’m surprised to hear the story on payment of the N74 billion claims by the Chief Executive of the agency, Faruk Ahmed Maishanu. Either he was misinformed or he does not know what is happening in the place.

“Who and who were paid the money? I know some of the marketers who are being owed N10 billion each. So for him to say that the agency paid N74 billion to marketers is not true.

“So, we can only agree with the said payment if the money was paid to ‘ghost marketers’ or if it is part of the rejected waybill.

“The Federal Government should sack this man because he is not competent to hold such a sensitive position in view of the fact that he doesn’t know what is going on there,” he said.

He noted that the inability of the agency to settle the marketer’s transport claims amounting to about N500 billion was responsible for the persistent fuel shortage being experienced in the country.

Danmalam said that based on the investigation conducted by IPMAN, It was discovered that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had recently released over N70 billion to the agency to pay marketers which had yet to be paid.

He lamented that before now, their members were being paid their claims within one or two months as against the present system or mode of payment.\