National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association, IPMAN, Engineer Sanusi Fari, has allayed members’ fears over the scrapping of the Petroleum Equalisation Fund by the federal government.

Prior to the scrapping of PEF, IPMAN had said its members were being owed over N42 billion.

Investigation revealed that the Federal Government, on Wednesday, officially scrapped the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR; Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, and PEF.

The PEF is the special intervention Fund with the mandate to  ensure price uniformity of petroleum products across the country,  through the reimbursement of marketers for losses they incur in trucking products from depots to their filling stations anywhere in Nigeria.

The action of the Federal Government is premised on the passage and implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA, passed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari after    both chambers of the National Assembly had passed, clause by clause the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB.

READ ALSO: PIA: Workers of DPR, PPPRA, PEF won’t be sacked – FG

Two  new agencies, the Upstream Regulatory Commission and Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NPRA) have since been saddled statutorily to perform the duties of the three defunct agencies.

Further investigation revealed that the  leadership of the defunct agencies are  now technically handing over to their successors put in place by the Minister of State, Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, at Wednesday inauguration.

The IPMAN President in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja, weekend, said there was no iota of truth in the claim by certain downstream oil sector industry operators that with the scrapping of PEF, the outstanding bridging claims owed marketers would not be paid.

Engineer Fari, who urged his members not to panic maintained that the Association has what it takes based on its close working  relationship with the leadership of National Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO, and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas, NUPENG, to ensure that payment of marketers bridging claims owed by PEF was not lost.

He said: “Following the scrapping of three Federal Government agencies namely, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the Petroleum Equalization Fund (Management Board) and the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) as a result of the signing into law of Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 by President Muhammadu Buhari, I wish to inform our teeming members nationwide that there should not be any apprehension over the fate of our business most especially, the marketers funds still being held by the PEF (Mgt Board).

“The PIA provides for the establishment of Upstream Regulatory Commission (UPR) and Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (MDRA) which the Hon. Minister of State had announced their respective CEOs as Mr. Gbenga Komolafe and Mr. Farouk Ahmed. We congratulate them and wish them success.

“Therefore, DPR, PEF and PPPRA have been collapsed into these two newly established agencies to still cater for the needs of our members.

“On behalf of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of IPMAN, I call on our members not to panic.

“We have what it takes based on our close working relationship with the leadership of NARTO and NUPENG, to ensure that no marketer losses any bridging claim(s) owed us by PEF(Mgt Board) in whatever way.

“Kindly continue to serve the general public in the interest of our country.”

Vanguard News Nigeria