It has been revealed that the fuel supply situation in the country
took a turn for the worse on Tuesday as queues of desperate motorists
grew longer at many petrol stations selling Premium Motor Spirit, also
known as petrol, in Lagos, Ogun, Kwara and other states of the
federation, including the Federal Capital Territory.
According to Punch Metro, it was gathered that many of the private
depots in Apapa, Lagos, where many marketers get petroleum products from
for distribution to other states, did not have PMS while those who had
were doing “skeletal loading.”
Fuel queues, which started emerging in some parts of the country on
Monday after more than a year of relief from scarcity of petroleum
products in the country, were seen spilling onto some roads in Lagos and
Ogun states on Tuesday and caused gridlock.
The Punch reports that many depots in Apapa did not have petroleum
products on Tuesday, while the few with products recorded low
activities.
The ex-depot prices charged by the depots for PMS ranged from N139
to N143 per litre, compared to the official ex-depot price of N133.28.
Motorists and other consumers of petrol complained about the latest
round of fuel scarcity, alleging that it might be a ploy to increase
the pump price of the product.
They also wondered why the latest crisis was happening at a time
Nigerians were preparing for the Christmas and New Year festivities.
Motorists spilled onto major roads like Ikorodu Road, Agege Motor Road, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway and Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Some were seen fighting to get to the pumps, while fuel attendants
and ‘area boys’ made brisk business from desperate motorists who wanted
to jump the queues so as to be serve quickly. At a filling station in
Ogba, the attendants who manned the gates collected N1,000 from each
motorist before allowing them inside.
Last week, the Independent Petroleum Markers Association of
Nigeria, Lagos State chapter, accused the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation of under-supplying its members with petrol.
The association alleged that the NNPC was also frustrating its
members by reneging on the bulk purchase agreement it signed with them
to supply the product at N133.28 per litre.
The Executive Secretary, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers
Association, Mr. Olufemi Adewole, said the increase in price of crude
oil had led a corresponding rise in the prices of refined products.
He said, “It is only the NNPC that is bringing products in; we
also noticed a supply gap in what they brought in. It wasn’t enough at a
particular time and the result is what we are seeing today.
“But they have also equally assured us that they have enough
stock and that they are expecting vessels to come in; our members have
paid for PFI (pro-forma invoices) for PMS. So, once the NNPC cargoes
come in, we will receive the product and sell to Nigerians.”
Asked why marketers were not importing, Adewole said, “Landing
cost of PMS today has increased. By the time we land the product based
on the international crude oil prices, petrol should be selling for
about N165-N170 per litre. But the government is saying we should sell
at N145. So, if there is no subsidy, we have to depend on the NNPC to
give us the product.”
A top official at one of the depots in Lagos, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, said the supply dislocations would take days to
disappear.
He said, “We are still doing skeletal loading; no depot wants
to be out of stock completely because it is not good for business. As of
today (Tuesday), there is no vessel dispending PMS from the Apapa
jetty, except the one in Oando SPM.
“Marketers are still being owed 2016 subsidy claims. No sane
marketer can put his money down now to import petrol. Nobody is talking
about when the subsidy arrears would be paid; so everybody has to rely
on the NNPC. Also, the landing cost of petrol has increased.”
In Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, major petrol stations sold PMS to customers at the pump price of N145 per litre.
Few filling stations, however, sold the product at the N150 per litre.
It was observed that majority of the independent petroleum outlets
had stopped selling as of 5pm on Tuesday. A source said the outlets
preferred selling the product to black market operators at night.
In Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, the fuel scarcity has yet to be
felt in the metropolis as all the filling stations visited by one of
our correspondents sold petroleum products to buyers at the government
regulated prices.
There was panic-buying of petrol in Ado Ekiti as motorists were seeing rushing to filling stations to stock up the product.
As of 4pm on Tuesday, the situation was normal at filling stations
along Bank Road in Ado Ekiti, including a franchise station of the
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
Filling stations in Uyo operated normally as there were no queues
within the metropolis. However, some stations dispensed petrol at N150
instead of N145 per litre.
The situation in Niger State was similar as motorists bought petrol
at the rate of N145 per litre in almost all the filling stations in
Minna except the NNPC mega stations that sold it for N143.
Officials of the Department of Petroleum Resources stormed some
filling stations in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital on Tuesday to check
hoarding of petrol.
The DPR officials led by the Operations Controller, Abeokuta Field
Office, Muinat Bello-Zagi, inspected the facilities at the filling
stations, especially the storage tanks, to measure the products stored
there.
In Abuja and Nasarawa State, motorists waited in queues for many hours to buy petrol.
Along the Kubwa-Zuba Expressway in Abuja, many motorists formed
queues in front of the NNPC mega station and the Nipco filling station
located on the road, while many others were sighted at some stations
around Madalla and Suleja in Niger State.
Queues were also observed in front of the few petrol stations that
dispensed petrol along the Abuja-Keffi road in Nasarawa State.
Despite the development, the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation described the situation as panic buying, insisting that it
had enough product to keep the country wet.
The Group Managing Director, Maikanti Baru, stated that the
situation was due to panic buying, adding that the corporation was doing
everything within its reach to address the matter.
He was quoted in a statement issued on Tuesday by the corporation’s spokesperson, Ndu Ughamadu, as saying, “For
the umpteenth time, I wish to call on all Nigerians to stop panic
buying. We have said times without number that the NNPC has sufficient
products to cater for the needs of all consumers.”
Filling stations in Akure, Ondo State capital, and some other towns
had long queues of vehicles as the petrol scarcity that had hit the
state since Monday worsened on Tuesday.
It was observed that some filling stations were shut down while those that opened had long queues of vehicles.
Worried by the development, the Senate on Tuesday summoned the NNPC
GMD to appear before its Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream)
on Thursday over the rising scarcity of PMS across the country.
Baru failed to appear before the committee on Tuesday, leading to
the rescheduling of the meeting during which he would be expected to
explain the reasons for the scarcity.
The Chairman of committee, Senator Kabiru Marafa, while briefing
journalists in Abuja, said plans had also been concluded to commence
nationwide inspection of filling stations over the looming fuel crisis.
Marafa stated the Senate would not allow some unpatriotic persons
to cause Nigerians any hardships, especially during the Yuletide,
stressing that though the lawmakers had adjourned plenary to conduct
budget defence sessions for Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the
government, members of the committee would embark on the oversight
visits to the filling stations.
He said members of the committee would be regrouped into sub-committees to make it possible for them to visit all the states.