Association appeals to govt. over nonpayment of marketers

Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) on Wednesday appealed to Federal Government over continued indebtedness of oil marketers, saying it could trigger retrenchment of staff in the sector.

The Public Relations Officer of PENGASSAN, Mr Fortune Obi, made the appeal in an
interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

Obi, who reiterated the importance of rescuing oil marketers from financial crisis, added that many marketers found it diffcult to cope in business “due to backlog of debts owed them during  the subsidy regime.

“Many marketers borrowed money to import fuel, hoping to be paid afterwards but
up till date, they have not received their money from government.

“It is time to take oil marketers out of recession and financial crisis by duly paying them all the debts.”

Obi, however, said that payment of the debt would not only enhance fuel supply in the country but restore efficiency in the oil sector.

The marketers, comprising Major Oil Marketers (MOMAN), Independent Petroleum Marketers Association (IPMAN), and Depot Petroleum Products marketers Association (DAPPMA) could no longer import fuel due to their inability to service loans, he said.

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Independent Petroleum Products Importers (IPPIs) said one billion dollars outstanding debt was money borrowed from banks to fund importation during the subsidy regime, with interest of N160 billion.