The Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) has called on the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to obey Federal Government’s directive on naira transactions for their charges.
DAPPMAN second Vice Chairman, Mahmood Tukur, in a statement issued by the association on Sunday said the Federal Government, through its downstream regulator, and based on agreement reached with stakeholders, directed ports charges to be collected in naira.
He said the directive was contained in a communique issued in November 2021, and signed by heads of the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulation Authority, Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, Major Oil Marketers Assocoation of Nigeria (MOMAN) and DAPPMAN.
Tukur alleged that the agencies were yet to comply with directives and continue to collect charges in dollars.
“Government gave directives that these agencies should henceforth charge marketers in naira but that had not been implemented. That is a major challenge.
“The dollar price is practically driven by demand. If there is no supply, obviously the price will rise. So, every time a vessel needs to berth, we have to pay ports charges in dollars. But we are saying that can be paid in naira. That is one way of actually taking demand (for dollars) out of the market and it will cool the forex effects.
“If these products are consumed locally and destined for local ports, why is the NPA and NIMASA charging in dollars? They should simply implement a directive given by the government, and we can assure that this will also bring down the price of petroleum products,” Tukur said.
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