Nigerians may face a bleak Yuletide as indications have emerged that the current scarcity of petrol across the country may spill into the New Year unless an urgent solution is found to the lingering problem.
Our correspondent gathered on Tuesday that petroleum product depots were selling Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise called petrol, to marketers above the ex-depot price of N77.66 per litre.
This is despite a recent warning by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation that marketers whose retail outlets sell above the regulated pump price of N87 per litre would be sanctioned accordingly with their products given to consumers for free.
One of the marketers said, “Product loaded at the regulated N77.66 is later being traded at up to N110 to third parties who later sell at N120 in some filling stations in the South and N114 in the North.”
Findings by our correspondent showed that even the marketers who were getting PMS supply from the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company at the official ex-depot price were selling the product at exorbitant prices to truck owners and filling stations, who then sell above N100 per litre to consumers.
The situation prompted a visit by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, to tank farms in Apapa, Lagos on Tuesday.
Reacting to the development at the depots, Kachikwu warned the depot owners to desist from selling petrol above the official ex-depot price of N77.66 per litre, even as the fuel scarcity continues to worsen daily despite claims by the NNPC that it has sufficient products to meet demand.
The minister claimed that there were enough quantities of petroleum products in store to serve the country beyond the Christmas and New Year period, adding that the major challenge was the inability of the marketers to receive their subsidy claims.
Kachikwu said, “We are here to see what is going on at the tank farms so as to ascertain the level of products in most of the depots we used for our throughput.
“You can see the challenge we are having in bringing products; we are doing all we can to ensure the free flow of products, while a lot of vessels are coming into the country. The amount of cargo expected in the December period is enough to serve the country, but we need to deal with issues bordering on logistics.
“Profiteering by people is one of the major problems we are having. Nigerians should stop punishing their fellow Nigerians because of the urge to make excess profit.”
A few of the depots selling at the official price, like Nipco Plc, said they could not control the excesses of greedy marketers, who were desirous of making a kill of the situation.
Two marketers, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said normalcy would not return to the market until the Federal Government paid their subsidy arrears.
One of the marketers said, “All the queues you see today will speedily vanish tomorrow if our money gets to us. Everybody knows that. As long as this is not settled, this problem will continue.
“What we cannot understand is why the government through the legislators has refused to approve our payment despite the urgent nature of the issue.”
But Kachikwu said he had instructed the Department of Petroleum Resources to sanction any depot owner found selling petrol above the ex-depot price.
“About 26 cargos are being expected in the country by December to ease the fuel scarcity,” he added.
The minister appealed to Nigerians to be more patient, adding that the non-payment of the subsidy claims of the marketers was largely responsible for the current scarcity of petrol in the country.
Kachikwu said the NNPC was the only entity importing the product directly, adding that the marketers would be paid part of their claims this week following the approval of the supplementary budget by the National Assembly.
He said, “We are hopeful that this week their money will be paid because we have released the Sovereign Debt Notes, and once that have been released with the support of the National assembly, the payment is assured.
“We are also working towards paying the foreign exchange differentials to the marketers to ensure smooth flow of petroleum products in the country.”
Kachikwu also gave an assurance that by January, trucks would be tracked to ensure effective delivery of petrol through the value chain.
He said that government was also working to ensure that the refineries were put in shape as planned, adding that the 90-day ultimatum set for the refineries to start producing optimally would lapse in December.
The minister added that in January, an effective refinery model would be put in place to ascertain the level of investment and technical capacities of the refineries.
Meanwhile, the Western Zonal Chairman, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Debo Ahmed, has said that the Ibadan, Ilorin and Onne depots have not loaded petroleum products for close to two years.
Speaking during a press conference in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital on Tuesday, Ahmed stated that the situation was seriously affecting the distribution of petroleum products in the areas.
He called on the Federal Government to spread the location of the depots and also allow private depots to sell products to marketers from the areas where the government depots were not functional.
The IPMAN zonal boss also urged the government to make the depots to become functional in order to aid the distribution of petroleum products.
Ahmed, who said some private depots were selling petrol to marketers above the approved ex-depot price of N77.66 per litre, noted that since the depots were buying at a subsidised rate, they must sell the product at the official rate.
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