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NNPCL Issues Directive to Marketers on New Fuel Price Regime
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has issued a fresh circular to oil marketers on how much they will pay to get petroleum products.
This came about two weeks after the Federal Government announced the removal of fuel subsidy.
NNPCL Retail, in a circular released on Sunday, and obtained by The PUNCH, directed marketers to consider merging their old orders which carry the old fuel price in order to buy a truck of 45 million litres of petrol.
Marketers, according to The Punch, had before the deregulation ordered one truck of petrol for about N7.7m.
However, the new circular by the company advised marketers who had probably ordered three trucks at N7.5m (N171/litre old price), to merge their orders or ask for a refund.
“Following the full deregulation of PMS, NNPC Retail has made the following options available to help customers manage the impact of the additional cash flow requirement: Marketers now have the option of consolidating pre-paid self-owned tickets for fresh tickets in line with the revised price. Interested marketers can engage their respective NRL Depot Representative for guidance on how to initiate this option.
“Also, there is an option for cash refund. Marketers who are interested in initiating this option should send in official request addressed to the MD NNPC Retail. The request should include evidence of payment and order details (RRR number, Sales quotation number and Meter ticket number). Upon receipt of official request together with the above supporting documents, your refund request will be made processed,” the memo from NNPCL Retail read in part.
Oil marketers on Monday confirmed the development to The PUNCH.
The Operations Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mike Osatuyi, confirmed the development. He however said it might be difficult for some marketers to raise such huge funds required to place an order for petroleum products.
“Where do you want us to get such money from?” Osatuy asked.
“The price difference is huge and most can’t afford it. So what we will start seeing is that instead of ordering for one truck, marketers can now go for maybe a quarter or half truck just like it’s being done for diesel,” he said.
“Since NNPC said we consume 66 million litres daily, we are sure that it would drop to as low as 30 million litres soon,” Osatuyi said, corroborating what a former Chairman of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, and Chief Executive Officer, 11 Plc, Tunji Oyebanji, had told The PUNCH last week.
According to Oyebanji, ending fuel subsidies will stop smuggling and bring to bear Nigeria’s true daily petrol consumption.
Oyebanji also said an increase in fuel price by the NNPCL would see smaller downstream companies folding up, and being acquired by bigger companies
“Removing petrol subsidies is one of the best decisions Nigeria would ever make because smuggling would stop. This is the time we will know the real petrol consumption of Nigeria, likewise, many smaller stations will fold up and would get acquired by bigger ones” Oyabanji said.
The Punch
US President, Donald Trump, has ordered the Pentagon – headquarters of the United States Department of Defense – to prioritize the protection of Christians targeted by ISIS terrorists in Nigeria.
U.S. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, disclosed this on Wednesday while stressing that the mission has quietly led to the killing of ISIS’ second-in-command in Nigeria.
Speaking during a cabinet meeting chaired by President Trump at the White House, Hegseth said:
“To give you a sense of how committed this president is (referring to President Trump), maybe, a year ago, he heard the call of Nigerian Christians who are being targeted and killed by ISIS in Nigeria.
“He said, Pete, I want the war department to focus on ensuring that we do whatever we can to protect those Christians”.
He further said: “Partnerships like that can take some time behind the scenes, but he never wavered on it. We got the assets there over the last month. There has not been much coverage of this”.
He added that U.S. intelligence gathered during the operation helped lead to the deaths of “hundreds” of ISIS fighters tied to attacks on Christians and threats against the U.S. homeland.
“We killed ISIS’ number two in Nigeria, who is most responsible for killing Christians and trying to target U.S. homeland.
“There’s a lot of things we do that the media pays attention to, and a lot of things that the president empowers the Department to do on behalf of the American people, that he deserves great credit for,” Hegseth concluded.
Controversial social media activist, Martins Vincent Otse aka VeryDarkMan (VDM), has reacted strongly to allegations surrounding the circulation of an alleged audio involving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
VDM spoke in a lengthy video posted on social media after comments credited to presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, accused him of disseminating a fake audio related to the President.
In the video, VDM claimed he began receiving several calls warning him not to return to Nigeria following the controversy surrounding the audio clip.
According to him, some associates advised him to remain abroad over fears that he could be arrested upon his return to the country.
Reacting to the development, VDM denied any wrongdoing and insisted that he had the constitutional right to criticise the government and comment on national issues.
He accused government officials of paying more attention to critics on social media instead of addressing pressing security challenges confronting the country.
The activist also criticised the Federal government over insecurity, kidnappings and economic hardship, arguing that Nigerians were facing difficult living conditions across the country.
VDM further alleged that some individuals were attempting to create a narrative to justify possible actions against him because of his criticism of the administration.
He maintained that he would continue speaking on issues affecting Nigerians, particularly insecurity and governance.
During the emotional video, the social commentator repeatedly questioned why government officials were allegedly more vocal about online controversies than incidents of bandit attacks and kidnappings.
He also urged Nigerians to participate actively in the 2027 general elections, insisting that citizens must make decisions based on the performance of political leaders.
The controversy followed comments attributed to Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, who reportedly stated that VDM should “face the weight of the law” over the alleged circulation of fake audio involving the President.
As of the time of filing this report, there was no official confirmation from security agencies regarding any planned action against the activist.
By Eric Elezuo
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been declared winner of the presidential primary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The declaration was made at the Trascorp Hilton Hotel, where the final collation of results was made.
The former Vice President polled a total of 1, 846, 370 votes to defeat his closest rival, former Governor of Rivers State, Hon Rotimi Amaechi, who scored just over 500 thousand votes. Alhaji Muhammed Hayatu-Deen came third.
