Marketers yet to receive credit from banks

Most of the Oil marketers in the country are going through very tough time as the ease with which they used to acquire loans from Banks is fast dwindling with a twist of events, as banks have become difficult to approach in that regards.

It will be recalled that there was a delay in the payment of subsidy claims to the marketers in 2012, because of the various probes carried out on the petroleum sector and the issue of subsidy payments by the House of Representatives and the Aig-Imokhuede Committees.

But after the reports had been submitted by the various committees concerned, the Federal Ministry of Finance has since resumed full payments of the subsidy claims to the petroleum marketers.

With the recent development in the petroleum sector, only few of the marketers have access to credit facilities from the banks, which could affect the importation of the products, considering the fact that local production has come up to full capacity.

One of the marketers explaining the situation said “We have been paid most of our claims and I am also aware that majority of other companies involved in importation have been paid. But the banks are yet to resume lending for fresh imports. The banks are very selective in giving out loans because marketers are no longer being paid within 45 days of importation of products as stipulated in the Petroleum Support Fund (PSF) guidelines.”

Giving further clarifications on the issue of subsidy payments to marketers the Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria said that her Ministry had since released about N161.6 billion approved by the National Assembly for Subsidy Payments.

There is now a twist in the ongoing business relationship between the Marketers and the bankers as the trend has changed from the banks chasing the marketers, to the marketers now chasing the banks, pleading for credit, a very unfortunate situation for the marketers.