…as Petrol queues, black marketers surface in Abuja, others
By Ayo Fadimu and Taofeek Lawal, Abuja
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has increased the daily supply of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) across the country from 550 trucks to 1,661 trucks to combat the build up of fuel queues in some parts of the country.
A statement by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, quoted the Managing Director of the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Mr. Musa Lawan, as saying that there are about two billion litres of PMS in strategic depots across the country to keep the nation well supplied for two months if no drop of fuel was imported in that period.
“We have embarked on massive load out. Today, we trucked out 1,661 trucks from all depots across the country. Reports reaching us show that they have already started arriving at the filling stations. We believe that this would ease out the queues,” Lawan reassured.
The return of queues occurred barely 24 hours after the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) announced that there will be no increase in ex-depot price of petrol in May, long petrol queues have surfaced in Abuja, parts of Niger and Nasarawa states.
Also, hundreds of black marketers who sell the commodity in jerry cans are currently in business in some of the affected locations.
Our Correspondent reports that some of the black marketers sell a litre of petrol for as high as N500/litre.
Many fillings stations were shut to motorists on Monday morning, while the few ones dispensing the commodity were flooded with motorists and other petrol seekers.
The only retail outlet of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation on the Kubwa-Zuba Expressway that dispensed petrol on Monday morning was jam-packed with motorists.
Some of the other filling stations on that road and in various locations in Abuja and neighbouring states were not selling petrol.
Attendants in some of the outlets told our correspondent that the threat by Petrol Tanker Drivers to embark on strike triggered the scarcity in the affected areas.
Along Abuja-Kaduna-Kubwa express road a ten-litre jerry can of fuel sells for N5k while a 25 litre can goes N12.500.
Except for Gegu filling station that is selling fuel, other private operators along the express closed their gates while the three NNPC outlets are selling as vehicles queued on the service lane.
It will be recalled that fuel stations all over the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have started witnessing long queues of motorists struggling to buy the premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol since Saturday.
The situation worsened on Tuesday.
However, while fielding questions from State House Correspondents, Managing Director, Peroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Mr. Musa Lawan, who explained the observed scarcity had been as a result of suspension of operations by tanker drivers, who were protesting some labour issues with their employers, said the worst is over as the strike had been suspended for one week.
According to him, the tanker drivers, as at Tuesday, had already resumed lifting fuel from depots across the country.
He added that the agreement struck with the aggrieved drivers would enable government to reach a more lasting understanding on the matter.
“These queues will go away. It’s because there was an industrial action by petroleum tanker drivers against their employers, the National Association of Road Transport Owners around their compensation package and those issues were not resolved up till yesterday, until we intervene to ensure that there’s an amicable settlement between the parties so that they will have peace and then normal loading operations will commence from the depots.
“As I speak to you at this moment, loading has commenced in all depots in the country, dispatches of trucks are ongoing in all the depots in the country and they have called off the strike for a period of one week to enable us intervene and find a solution. So there’s really nothing fundamental that is happening now,” he assured.
Lawan disclosed that a 24-hour situation monitoring committee has been set up to track the movements of trucks from the depots to the various filling stations across the country, assuring that the queues will thin out in the next few days.
The PPMC boss explained that the disruption in the distribution chain was caused by the strike embarked upon by Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) over compensation.
He assured that with the suspension of the strike upon the intervention of the Group Managing Director of NNPC, and the resumption of loading, coupled with the extension of loading time, normalcy would soon return to the filling stations.
It would be recalled that the GMD’s intervention recently led to the suspension of the strike by the PTD for one week.
Speaking in similar vein at the State House after a meeting with the President, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, assured that with the resumption of loading, normalcy would soon return to the fuel situation across the country.
He said the ex-depot price of petrol would remain the same for the month of May, urging marketers not to engage in arbitrary price increase.
He urged motorists to avoid panic buying in order not to compound the situation.
He called on all relevant stakeholders in the downstream sector to collaborate with the NNPC to ensure a quick return to the zero-fuel queues situation that Nigerians had been enjoying before the unfortunate disruption of the distribution chain.
When Kyari was asked about government’s plan to end the petrol subsidy regime, the NNPC GMD said government was still in the process of working out the best way out of the current situation, which he assured would be in the best interest of the ordinary citizen.
“Subsidy is a policy matter, I’m sure you’re aware of this, there are engagements going on within government to get the best framework for having a fully deregulated PMS market.
“As this is going on, we are engaging all parties and all stakeholders as government and to make sure that at the end of the day, there’s an exit that is beneficial to the ordinary man.
“That is why we know we will not be able to complete that in the month of May and and therefore we declared that there will be no increase in fuel price. I have no update in hand now, this is beyond me, but we’re engaging to make sure that we have the right timeline,” he said.
Asked how recent rising crude oil price at the global market had impacted on the NNPC’s revenue, especially during a season when the country is discussing removal of fuel subsidy, Kyari said: “you know it works both ways. Once prices increase, your revenue also increases.
“So I don’t have any numbers around it, but I also know that your obligation to price of petroleum increases and your net revenue also increases. There’s a balancing factor, I don’t think there’s anything much to worry about,” he explained.