NNPC portal shutdown raises concerns as marketers claim 90 million trapped

The sudden shutdown of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) portal has sparked widespread concern among fuel marketers, who claim that N90 million worth of fuel subsidies are now inaccessible.

Olufemi Soneye, chief corporate communications officer of the NNPC, said that the decision to shut down the purchasing portal addressed a considerable backlog. “The closure was necessary to prevent the NNPC from holding marketers’ funds for extended periods.”

Soneye assured marketers that the portal would be reopened once the backlog is adequately addressed. “We are actively working to reduce the backlog and will resume operations as soon as possible.”

Despite the NNPC’s assurances, marketers have expressed concern about the prolonged closure. They noted that the company has not disclosed the exact value of the backlog, but independent sources suggest that there are over 2,000 pending orders awaiting clearance.

Chinedu Ukadike, the National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), shared insights into the ongoing situation.

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“Our marketers are still loading petrol from NNPC. However, I can’t provide a specific price at this time because the portal remains shut,” he said.

Ukadike estimated that with over 2,000 tickets for 45,000 litres each, the total volume in question could reach significant millions.

Ukadike revealed that they are awaiting the supply of over 90 million litres of petrol, valued at approximately N79 billion from NNPC.

The Petroleum Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) said that the NNPC is currently seeking alternative methods to supply petrol to them.

Billy Gillis-Harry told BusinessDay, “The NNPC assured us that they are working around the clock to make sure that the portal is up and running. While they are doing that, they are also making alternative arrangements for us to obtain our products. So we just are waiting for those other alternative methods of getting products, so we can pay for them and be able to wet our filling stations”.

Harry further emphasised that PETROAN is implementing strong plans to secure and distribute petrol products in the coming months to address the existing shortfall.

“In addition to that, PETROAN is also making very robust arrangements to be able to land products within the next few months to be able to help with the shortfall so that we can also get petroleum products,” Harry said.