Henceforth, the federal government will no longer issue petroleum product import licences to oil marketers who fail to clear their outstanding statutory financial obligations to the Petroleum Equalisation Fund, PEF. Ibe Kachikwu, minister of State for Petroleum Resources, said this is because some oil marketers owed the PEF the statutory fee meant for bridging the cost of petroleum products, and that this affects the uniformity of prices of petroleum products across the country.
The minister revealed this at an event organised by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, to clarify the recent review of the pricing template of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol.
Kachikwu, represented by Brenda Ataja, his senior Technical Assistant, explained that the supply chain for petroleum products worked in a cycle, and that the failure of any marketer to pay the necessary bridging cost levy would adversely affect the chain. “In view of the debt obligations and challenges in paying transporters for products being bridged, we must understand that the supply chain is a cycle. If marketers do not pay the statutory fee, it will affect the ability for products to reach the various locations in Nigeria at uniform prices, which is why the PEF was created in the first place,” said Kachikwu.
According to him, marketers are to pay their outstanding dues to the PEF for products that have been bridged from each terminal. He said the directive is to enforce payment and it is not a directive to stop importation. “Once you pay your outstanding obligation, you will get your licence to import products,” explained Kachikwu.