N800bn Subsidy Debt: Oil Marketers Get First Tranche Of N236bn

ADVERTISE HERE

ADVERTISE HERE

Oil marketers yesterday confirmed receipt of N236 billion being first
tranche payment of the outstanding N800 billion subsidy debt owed its
members.

Executive Secretary of the Major Oil Marketers
Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) confirmed the development to Daily Sun in
a telephone interview.

‘‘Yes, I can confirm to you that payment
is ongoing. Some of our members have started receiving the promissory
note for the payment of the subsidy arrears.”

The receipt of the
N236 billion promissory note was equally corroborated by the Chief
Operating Officer (COO), Downstream, Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Ikem Obih.

Obi said the Federal
Government in paying the first tranche of the debt through the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN), had directed banks to freeze interest on loans
related to the subsidy scheme.

“Yes, I can confirm that the
promissory note has been issued; in fact, they were ready on Wednesday.
The marketers got emails inviting them to come and receive them on
Monday.

“By the end of Tuesday, they were actually ready from the
Debt Management Office (DMO). We had a meeting with the CBN Governor on
Thursday and they were informed officially that they should pick up the
promissory notes; the Director General of DMO was there.

“Most
of them were waiting for that meeting with the CBN governor; it went
very well. One of the things that CBN governor has taken the initiative
to do is to ask the banks to freeze the interest on any loan related to
that scheme; the outstanding payment from end of June 2017 to date.
Those are some of the additional concessions that government has done,’’
he said.

According to him, all the promissory notes for this first tranche will mature by 2019.

“The CBN governor will give the Liquid assets status; so, it is as good as cash,’’ he added.

But,
Isong in admitting that the money has been paid through promissory
notes, said he hopes the Federal Government implements the clause in the
agreement that banks freeze interest on loans.

Commenting on
petrol scarcity, he said at the moment, the country had in stock 2.7
billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) that would last for 54 days
and still importing.

He noted that in terms of supply, NNPC was
very robust and had never been this good in the least 10 years, at this
time of the year.

“We are very good with distribution in terms of
how much products is on land because 2.8 billion litres is what is
between Lagos waters and land.

“Most tank farm cannot receive PMS
at the moment; our vessels have to queue for days to be able to
discharge to the storage.’’ He added

Also, petroleum products
marketers had also confirmed receiving payment of N236 billion from the
Federal Government for the first tranche of the outstanding fuel subsidy
claims.

However, the Executive Secretary of the Depot and
Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), Mr
Olufemi Adewole, said, that oil marketers still needed clarifications as
regards the payments made by the Federal Government.

“Yes, we
collected promissory notes, but we need clarification. DAPPMAN chief
executive officers are reviewing the total scenario and would meet with
the Senate Committee, which has been of so much help to iron out
things.”

He further confirmed that the payment was made via promissory notes, adding that DAPPMAN was already reviewing the situation.

He
confirmed that the petroleum marketers would be meeting with the Senate
Committee on Downstream to address other pending issues.

ADVERTISE HERE

CLICK HERE TO COMMENT ON THIS POST

Do you find Naijafinix Blog Useful??

Click Here for Feedback and 5-Star Rating!



Be the first to comment

Share your thoughts

Your email address will not be published.