Unless the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) immediately pays the outstanding N7 billion bridging cost it owes the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), there may soon be fuel scarcity in the Northern and South Eastern parts of the country.
IPMA, which has about 10,000 filling stations that control 90 per cent of petrol retail business in the country, gave the warning in Abuja on Wednesday through a statement by its National Public Relations Officer, Danladi Pasali.
According to the statement, the National Executive Council (NEC) of IPMAN has been inundated with several complaints from its members about the non payment of bridging cost amounting to about N7 billion in the past seven months.
The non-payment, according to the statement, has not only brought untold hardship to IPMAN members but is already affecting product supply in the Northern and South Eastern states, a situation that could worsen from next week unless adequate steps are taken to arrest the situation.