How kerosene fuels NNPC depot crises

*Why kerosene is expensive

Deziani ALison-Madueke - Minister of Petroleum Resources

The Warri Depot of the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC), like most depots across the country, is a beehive of daily activities; sometimes businesses worth about N1 billion are transacted daily within and around the complex.

These days business at the depot is a blend of tension and rumours generated by the leadership tussle between Chief Akpos Edefevwotu, Chairman of the Warri Depot Unit of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and his deputy, Mr. Ben Jones.

The relationship between the duo hit the rock following disagreement over the leadership of the union and by extension the multimillion naira deals accruing to IPMAN.

The no-love-lost relationship between Akpos and Ben Jones came to the fore with the review of IPMAN constitution, particularly as it deals with tenure of elected official. The old constitution provided for a maximum of two tenures of three-year each, with the deputy being as a crown prince waiting to succeed the chairman.

Nevertheless the new constitution provides for single five-year tenure. The trouble in the Warri Depot and other units of IPMAN is over the interpretation of the new constitution.

Mr Ben Jones was yet to respond to our reporter request for interview at the time of filing this report, but a source close to him said, "This crisis is just about the chairman's sit-tight mentality.

"Akpors says the new 5-year tenure automatically extends his tenure beyond the 2013 terminal date to 2015 - giving him extra two year. This is strange because I have not seen where a law affects an election conducted before it.

"If we allow him he would be chairman for eight years and who knows what he would want to do after 2015! That is why we opposed him. Does it even make sense that a constitution that wants to reduce sit-tight syndrome will increase tenure?"

Reacting to the allegation, Chief Edafevwotu accused his counterpart of being inordinately ambitious and not waiting for his turn.

Speaking in a telephone interview with our reporter, he said, "I do not think there is any issue at stake. It is just the Vice Chairman that is contesting the IPMAN constitution and that is not done anywhere. The law affected all the excos of the 21 units of IPMAN. It is not about me. At the moment about 14 excos are already implementing it and there is an advertorial to that effect in a national daily. I do not see why Warri Unit should be different."

Our independent investigation revealed that the tussle is more than the control of the affairs of private marketers, but about lucrative deals, including the allocation of products, it confers on the chairman.

It was gathered that kerosene particularly provides windfall for IPMAN and other union leaders and their supporters at the Warri Depot.

Although our checks revealed that allocations are determined by a list known as PROGRAMME, the manipulation of the process gives leverage to top members to make easy money.

A source, who asked not to be named because of fear of backlash, disclosed that the list (programme) is never implemented because of corruption within the system. It said top NNPC officials and Abuja power brokers are involved in the deals.

"As a result, your name may be 2nd on the list yet you may never load. The way it is done is that the top shots bring their own trucks and those of cronies to load at the expense of those who should."

It was gathered that those who could not wait for their turn resolve to what is infamously known as 'Slave Labour'.

"Slave labour," another source explains, "is when somebody cannot wait again, he will approach those in charge of programme, they will use his company's name to allocate the product. When the ticket for loading comes out they resell to buyers for a handsome profit."

Those in the system told our reporter that a ticket to load 30,000-liter tanker could fetch as much as N1.5million or at least N750,000 on the spot, depending on the prevailing situation at the depot.

"If you (marketer) agrees to Slave Labour, when the ticket is sold, you are given between N100,000 to N200,000 by those in charge, depending on your profile."

Our findings revealed that it is the corruption within the system that ensures that kerosene is never available at the official price at the filling station across the area. Specifically, we found out that kerosene is allocated at the price of N1.227m per 30,000lt tanker, which translates to N40.9 per litre.

At that price, marketers would ordinarily make profit at the official price of N50 a litre. But rather than take their products to their petrol stations, those who get the allocations resell at a profit of over 100 per cent.

The profit from the illicit deal is reportedly shared among the influential members of unions like IPMAN and some unscrupulous NNPC official who actively aid and facilitate the illicit deals.

Sources said the deals are not restricted to DPK (kerosene) only, but also includes AGO (Automotive Gas Oil) popular called diesel.

It is against the background of this huge illegal windfall that the tussle for the chairmanship of IPMAN is elevated into a do-or-die affair, particularly in the Warri Zone in recent times.

The IPMAN chairman however waved off these allegations, describing them as unfounded. He said, "Programme is monthly and we get only two trucks. From January to March there was no kerosene at the Warri depot and in the last three weeks now there has been none.

"Most people like saying what are not true to get sympathy, they like to say what they do not know. But what I am telling you is the truth you can verify it anywhere. The truth cannot be hidden," he added.

Meanwhile, tension remains high at the depot in spite of various efforts to reconcile the key players.

It was gathered that a March meeting headed by the Deputy National President of the association, Mr. Eddie Okoronkwo in Benin failed to resolve the imbroglio.

The crisis in the unit is expected to hit boiling point in November when the incumbent's tenure would have expired.