Members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) have appealed to the Federal Government to promptly settle their outstanding subsidy debt, which stands at N130.7 billion as at August 2018.

The Chairman of MOMAN, Mr. Andrew Gbodume, made the appeal in Lagos yesterday. Gbodume said, the inability of government to pay the debt has affected the cordial relationship his members have with the banks.

He begged  the government to effect payment of the outstanding debt since the relevant agencies and the National Assembly have audited the debt and approved same for payment since July.

According to him, since inception, MOMAN has progressively gained a reputation in the Nigerian petroleum industry as a key player. “But one of the major challenges the Nigerian downstream petroleum sector is still facing is the non-payment of the long outstanding fuel subsidy to oil marketers.

“We appreciate the efforts of the national assembly but the non-payment creates a significantly negative impact on the operational efficiency of the downstream sector of the oil industry, thereby placing a severe strain on its efforts to continually invest in infrastructure and raise industry standards.  We hope that the debt will be paid in full to the oil marketers as soon as possible,” he said.

Gbodume said the debt owed MOMAN members as at August 2018 stood at  N130.7billion, adding that with the reconciliation and agreement on the actual debt by the relevant stakeholders, he could not understand why settlement has not been made.

He further stated that marketers are working tirelessly with the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) to ensure fuel availability and prevent fuel scarcity that rocked the nation in December 2017.

Hence, “We need to move away from the present arrangement because downstream sector needs investment. The banks are not willing to lend to downstream sector because of the present arrangement.”

He said currently only NNPC imports 100 per cent petroleum products, while MOMAN members collect product from NNPC and pay within two weeks.

“MOMAN members are not importing petroleum products because no bank is ready to give them loan due to inability to pay the outstanding debts owed by marketers.”

The MOMAN Chairman, however, commended the PPMC for its efforts over the years in ensuring consistent product supplies.  “PPMC has demonstrated its resolve in guaranteeing a non-repeat of the scarcity the nation experienced at the end of 2017 and quite frankly has done well so far,” he added.