Fuel scarcity will linger till January, say marketers

 

The frequent appearance of queues of desperate motorists at filling stations in search of Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol, could affect the Christmas and New Year festivities, oil marketers stated on Friday.

 

It was also gathered that oil marketers were now free to sell petrol at any rate as the Federal Government was no more restraining them from dispensing the commodity at a regulated price.

 

Fuel queues have continued to appear and disappear since January this year despite the hike in the cost of the commodity by oil marketers without any approval from the Federal Government or sanctions imposed on them.

 

Rather than speak on the matter, the Federal Government, through its Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, chose to remain mute.

 

Officials of the agency neither answered calls, nor replied to text messages sent to their mobile phones on issues of the scarcity of petrol nationwide.

 

Similarly, the sole importer of PMS into the country, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, has refused to make any comment on the development.

 

The NMDPRA, in its report on product sufficiency on Thursday, however, claimed that there was 33.17-day sufficiency of PMS in the country as of November 24, 2022. It also stated that about 2.1 billion litres of petrol was in stock despite the widespread queues nationwide.

 

But oil marketers countered the government as they argued that there had been concerns around logistics and the supply of products by the national oil company and sole importer.

 

They also stated that some new charges had been introduced in the downstream oil sector, which had given rise to a hike in the ex-depot price of petrol, adding that all these concerns could further make the current fuel queues to linger beyond December.

 

“Recently, there have been a lot of charges that marketers pay. There are some charges that the NNPC adds to the pump price, but recently we were told to be prepared to bear freight charges and others,” a major marketer, who pleaded not to be named due to lack of authorisation, stated.

 

The official added, “Also, pipeline charges that used to be 50 kobo before, are now N1 per litre. Now, these charges force depot owners to increase their ex-depot rates as against the one proposed by the NNPC.

 

“These and more concerns have led to the crisis in the downstream sector and it may stretch till December or even beyond if nothing tangible is done to address the challenges.”

 

Asked if the government was no more concerned about the pump price of petrol, the marketer replied, “Nobody cares about how much you sell now. That is why you cannot see the NNPC ex-depot prices to be the same in all the depots.

 

“There are some changes in rates now, which the NNPC cannot accommodate and they have to push it to marketers to absorb. This is why you see people sell at different rates.”

 

The National Public Relations Officer of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chief Ukadike Chinedu, said the scarcity of foreign exchange was also a setback to petroleum products supply.

 

He said, “There was a time you interviewed me some months ago, and I told you that fuel would sell for N200 per litre. You were really not comfortable with that statement.

 

“After that publication, many stakeholders called you to react to it. Some of them also called me to say why did I say fuel would be sold at that price? But I was only discussing based on the indices of the industry at that time.

 

“As a PRO of IPMAN in Nigeria, I can read the policies of the government towards the distribution of products in the downstream oil sector. You look at the exchange rate of the dollar to the naira, some foreign interruptions and the price of diesel.

 

“All these are factors that definitely affect petroleum products’ prices since we are not producing refined products in Nigeria. We cannot sustain the importation of petrol.

 

“Otherwise, we will continue to see ghost queues every month and this may continue till the end of this year. The major solution now is to speed up the repairs of our refineries. However, we are meeting and looking for quick interventions.”

 

On his part, the Deputy National President, IPMAN, Zarma Mustapha, stated that the queues would likely continue till December, but noted that efforts were on to address the hitches.

 

He said, “The on and off queues are due to issues of logistics in terms of supply of the commodity to the retail outlets from either the mother vessel to the private depot owners, and from there to independent and major marketers’ stations.

 

“There are a series of logistics issues as regards the supply chain. But the government and stakeholders are engaging in order to get a solution to these issues. However, we believe that this will be addressed, though it may drag beyond December.”

 

Also speaking, the Secretary, Abuja-Suleja IPMAN, Mohammed Shuaibu, stated that the current challenges of poor distribution and supply shortage of petrol might lead to widespread queues for PMS during the festive period in December.

 

“Our worry as marketers is that the festive month is at hand and if nothing is done quickly to address the current concerns around supply, I am afraid that it will escalate during the festivities, because it has started,” he stated.

 

Shuaibu described the situation as very precarious, stressing that it was the government that had the capacity to address it through the NNPC.

 

“We are in a very precarious situation and we pray it does not escalate beyond this. But then, the government has to wake up to its duties, because as you know, none of the four refineries is productive. They are more or less obsolete,” he stated.

 

Shuaibu called on the government to act fast in getting the refineries functional, describing this as the “most sensible solution at this moment.”

 

Lagos, Ogun situations

 

In Lagos, queues of motorists spilled to most major roads and hawkers made brisk business hawking the product in jerry cans.

 

The product sold for between N175 and N220 in many of the filling stations along the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway.

 

In many parts of Ogun State, especially in Abeokuta, Mowe, Ibafo and Sango, the pump price of petrol ranges between N210 and N220.

 

There were long queues at many filling stations on Friday, spilling onto the roads and impeding free flow of traffic.

 

A motorist, Ridwan Adeyanju, who spoke with one of our correspondents in Abeokuta, lamented the pain and suffering he had suffered in the course of getting fuel.

 

“I have gone through some pains while looking for fuel. They are selling it for between N210 and N220 per litre,” he said.

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An attendant at the Royal Gate filling station, Abeokuta, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said her employer instructed them to sell petrol for N210 per litre .

 

N259 in Edo

 

In Edo State, a litre sold for between N220 and N259 on Friday. However, the NNPC fuel stations were selling at N179 per litre with motorists queuing for several hours before they could buy the product.

 

A motorist, who identified himself as Godwin Ikpowonsa, said it was sad that the government had not been able to bring down the price of fuel. He said Nigerians were in for a torrid time if the situation continued till Christmas.

 

He said he had to queue at the NNPC filling station for over four hours to get his car tank filled up.

 

Ikpowonsa said, “It has been a harrowing experience since the scarcity began, which led to the increase in price. However, fuel is available now but you can only get it at close to the official price at the NNPC outlets. I have had to queue at the station for several hours on many occasions to get fuel. I have also bought at other stations, where it is sold between N220 and N259.

 

“I hope the government will find a solution to this problem before the Yuletide; if not, many people will suffer. The situation has led to an increase in the prices of goods and services, which is a sorry situation.”

 

N230 in Ondo

 

Many filling stations in Akure, the Ondo State capital, were under lock and key on Friday, while vehicles queued up in the few stations that had the product to sell.

 

In many parts of the state, petrol was being sold for between N200 and N230 per litre by independent marketers.

 

However, it was observed that only the major markers were selling the product for N180 per litre.

 

A commercial driver, Mr Ibitolu Sam, said he spent hours at a filling station owned by a major marketer.

 

A station manager, who identified himself simply as Mohammed, said the scarcity came about following the problem at the depot where they were buying the product from, adding that a litre was being sold for N210.

 

“I was instructed to shut down our operation because it is not profitable again; we are not getting the product at a normal price again. So, it is what we buy that we sell,” he said.

 

Ekiti motorists groan

 

Motorists in Ekiti State are groaning under the pain of the non-availability of PMS in most of the filling stations in the state, particularly Ado Ekiti, the capital city.

 

At the few petrol filling stations where the product was available on Friday, it was either the queues were long or the pump price had been hiked.

 

At the NNPC filling station along Ado-Iworoko Road and Matrix on Adebayo Street, where the product was sold at N179 per litre and N180 per litre respectively, there were long queues of vehicles.

 

But at the stations of the independent marketers, there were no queues, but the product sold for between N210 and N230 per litre.

 

A motorist, Ademola Akindele, who said it took him over one hour to get fuel at the NNPC station, wondered when Nigerians would be free from suffering over fuel supply.

 

Another motorist, Mrs Adesewa Olorunda, said, “I bought fuel at N230 per litre from a station along the old Ado-Iyin Road. The situation is worrisome. Are we going to spend all our income on fuel?”

 

Situation in Kwara

 

In Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, petrol was being sold at between N220 and N240 per litre at filling stations on Thursday and Friday.

 

It was observed that many of the private stations were selling fuel to motorists with little or no queue.

 

It was also observed that stations such as Bovas, Abanik, Total and MRS, which were selling fuel at between N180 and N185 to motorists in the last two weeks, did not open on Thursday.

 

A mini bus driver plying the Post Office/University of Ilorin route, Mallam Tijani Ajao, told Saturday PUNCH that acute fuel scarcity had not been witnessed in Ilorin, adding that motorists were entering petrol stations and buying the quantities they wanted.

 

“We buy petrol at between N220 and N240 per litre in filling stations and there is no queue; you will not spend time but if you want to buy at the control price of N180 per litre, you will spend between 45 minutes and one hour before you buy the product. Today, filling stations like Bovas, Total and MRS don’t have fuel, they are not opening their stations,” he said.

 

Kogi queues reduce

 

The pump price of fuel in Kogi State has hovered between N230 and N250 for the past one month.

 

The Rainoil by the NTA roundabout, Lokoja, witnessed drastic reduction in vehicular queues in front of the filling station.

 

A motorist, who did not want his name in print, told Saturday PUNCH that he had been buying the product for between N220 and N250 in the last one month.

 

“It looks like this has become official as no one has challenged them or asked questions on how they come about that price even though the pump price is still N175,” he said.

 

Abia motorists lament

 

In Abia State, the commodity had been selling for between N240 and N250 per litre for over a month.

 

An Umuahia-based motorist, Nkemjika Nwachukwu, said he was feeling bad “that I am buying fuel at N250.”

 

According to him, to fuel his car with eight litres of fuel for the day’s business means that he is spending N8,000 on fuel each day.

 

“How much do I earn in a day? I can’t cover it,” he lamented.

 

He advised the government “to look into the issue and encourage Dangote’s private refinery.”

 

Nwachukwu stated, “The government should also sit up and fix our refineries to avoid importing fuel at the current naira exchange rate.

 

“Nigerians are suffering and the Minister for Petroleum, the President, is even helpless.”

 

Delta price hike

 

Motorists in Delta State are lamenting the scarcity and high cost of fuel in the state.

 

One of our correspondents, who moved around Asaba on Friday, observed that most of the filling stations were closed down, while the few that opened were dispensing fuel at N250 per litre.

 

Motorists, who spoke to Saturday PUNCH, frowned on the situation of petrol sales in the past two months.

 

A bus driver plying the Asaba-Illah route, Monday Okonkwo, said the situation was unbearable.

 

He stated, “We are buying at the rate of N250 and the queues are so much that you will be frustrated.

 

“Some of the major marketers sell for between N220 and N230 if they open at all. The queues in all the petrol stations are also unbearable.”

 

Another motorist, Emmy, lamented that the annoying thing was that the government had refused to address the scarcity and high cost of fuel.

 

He queried whether the government was still subsidising fuel for the citizens against the N180 approved pump price

 

Situation in Katsina

 

Petrol currently sells for between N253 and N270 per litre in many filling stations in Katsina State as residents seem to be coming to terms with the scarcity of the product.

 

Many filling stations in the state, especially the major ones, were without the product on Friday, while the few ones with the product did not experience long queues of motorists.

 

Operators of commercial tricycles and passenger vehicles in the state were patronising the black market known as ‘Bunbulutu’, where four litres of fuel sold for N2,000.

 

A commercial bus driver, Halilu Akilu, said he and many of his colleagues were now buying fuel from Kano and Gusau since the product was scarce and more expensive in Katsina.

 

Sokoto motorists groan

 

Motorists and commuters in Sokoto State have continued to lament the continuous scarcity of petrol in the Sokoto metropolis, with a litre of the product selling for N280 on the average.

 

One of our correspondents gathered that most of the major marketers, including A. A. Rano, Total, Matrix and Oando as well as the NNPC mega stations had not been dispensing fuel for some days.

 

Some motorists, who spoke to Saturday PUNCH, condemned the attitude of the major marketers in the state, accusing them of diverting fuel meant for their stations for selfish interests.

 

Alhaji Nasir Bello, a driver with the state transport corporation, described the fuel supply situation in the state as worrisome.

 

He said, “What amazes me most is why it is always difficult for the major marketers to have fuel to dispense, while the independent marketers continue to dispense.

 

“The most annoying part is the black market filling stations, which have never ceased to sell fuel since this scarcity began.”

 

Mr Yahaya Sa’idu, a commercial driver plying the Sokoto-Kebbi Road, appealed to the government to enforce the official pump price of the product in the state.

 

Also in Birnin-Kebbi, Kebbi State capital, the situation was not different as other than the NNPC mega station and two of its other outlets located along the bye-pass and Government House Road, and only Shafa Oil was selling at official rate.

 

Other filling stations in the metropolis sold the product for between N260 and N270 per litre.

(Punch)