- Oil marketers are concerned about potential fuel scarcity due to the shutdown of NNPCL’s petrol purchasing portal, disrupting supply orders
- Over 90 million litres of petrol worth approximately N79 billion are pending delivery, with over 2,000 tickets awaiting processing
Oil marketers have raised concerns about a potential fuel scarcity following the shutdown of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) petrol purchasing portal.
The shutdown has prevented dealers from placing new orders for fuel, leading to supply disruptions.
According to marketers, over 90 million litres of petrol, worth approximately N79 billion, are pending delivery from NNPCL.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Ukadike, confirmed that while marketers can still load fuel, they cannot access the portal to check prices or make new purchases.
Ukadike stated that there are currently over 2,000 pending tickets for 45,000-litre petrol trucks, which amounts to a significant volume of fuel awaiting supply. He warned that the continued closure of the portal could result in another wave of fuel shortages across the country.
Other marketers, speaking anonymously, echoed concerns that the portal’s shutdown is already causing fuel shortages.
One marketer mentioned, “Everyone is affected because we all go to the NNPC portal to place our orders, and when the portal is inaccessible, supply is disrupted.”
As of now, there has been no official response from NNPCL spokesperson Olufemi Soneye regarding the situation. However, some marketers believe the portal was shut down temporarily to resolve backlogs of pending orders.