The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Zamfara chapter, has called on the Federal Government to make timely payment of their Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF).
The IPMAN Chairman in the state, Alhaji Surajo Kamba, made the call on Thursday while briefing newsmen on the recent fuel scarcity in Gusau, the state capital.
Kamba said that the payment of bridge allowances to their members would enable them supply the products to every nook and cranny of the country in good time.
He condemned the calls by some Nigerians for the scrapping of PEF under the Petroleum Industry Bill currently before the National Assembly.
According to him, the available depots in the country are not producing enough petroleum products for public consumption, thus forcing them to rely on private depots, which are selling the products at exorbitant prices.
Kamba said private depots were selling petrol to independent marketers at the cost of N163 per litre, as against the official price of N148.17 per litre, adding that transportation and other logistics had made it compulsory to sell above the control price.
The IPMAN chairman also called on the federal government to issue licences for the establishment of more private depots to ensure availability and timely distribution of the commodity in the country.
PEF was set up by Decree 9 of 1975 (as amended by Decree Number 32 of 1989, now chapter 352 of the Laws of the Federation.
The Fund was aimed at ensuring price uniformity of petroleum products via the reimbursement of marketers for losses they might incur in transporting the products from depots to their filling stations in any part of the country
