We Don’t Have Foreign Exchange To Import Our Fuel Allocations —— Depot Owners

Petroleum tank farm owners under the aegis of Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPMA) has cried out that the level of fuel supply across Nigeria is short because marketers have not been given the required foreign exchange to drive importation of the quotas allocated to them by the Petroleum Products and Marketing Company (PPMC).
Speaking exclusively with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos last week, Executive Secretary of DAPMA, Mr. Femi Adewole said that his members are awaiting foreign exchange from the Federal Government to be able to import the essential product.
Adewole said that some marketers have on their own sourced foreign exchange and have imported some petroleum cargoes, he however lamented that this is still grossly inadequate to suppress the scarcity of fuel. He said some marketers equally have cargoes with the PPMC and they are already receiving the products.
“For DAPMA members, we are waiting for foreign exchange, most of our members are people given allocation to import, and we are waiting for the allocation of foreign exchange”
“If we have the intervention on foreign exchange as we have been promised, the fuel will flow, few of our members have been able to source foreign exchange and have brought in their cargoes, it is grossly inadequate”
“A few others equally have throughput with PPMC and they are also loading. But generally, the task for 100 people is being performed by only 10 people, they will not be effective”
The DAPMA scribe also expressed worries that the fuel scarcity may last longer as marketers have stopped importation due to a $1 billion debt burden to their international supplies.
“The letters of allocation were given to us, but we have not been able to secure foreign exchange due to government policy on FOREX.
“Consequently, exposure to our creditors has left us with a $1 billion debt.”
Adewole explained that due to the debt burden, their creditors have insisted on being paid in cash.
He said: “Our creditors now demand that all our imports must be cash backed and of course, it is in dollars. We do not have money to import because CBN has not given us FOREX.
Reacting to allegations of illegalities going on at the depots, especially with regards to some of the depots selling above the official regulated price of the Federal Government, Adewole denied the allegations.
He told Shipping Position Daily that “if a dealer loads from a depot and he has taken his product outside the depot, it is no longer the responsibility of the depot but that of the dealer”‎
“But we have regulatory agencies monitoring and policing all these illegal activities, so we want them to do their work”,he explained.
He argued that members of DAPMA are not selling fuel above government template, even though he called for an upward review in the pricing template.
“My own members are selling as per government’s specified rates, but we have issues with the template and we are still working with the minister and the PPPRA to make sure the issue is resolved”
“We are clamouring for an upward review in price‎ because right now, the template as published, is not working” he said.