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Fuel scarcity looms over delayed subsidy payments

By on December 4, 2014

The reluctance of some oil marketers to import petrol owing to alleged non-payment of subsidy arrears and the subsequent reduction in loading activities at the Apapa depots are currently putting serious pressure on product supply across the country.

There are fears that scarcity of petrol is imminent if the situation is not addressed.

Some filling stations, which in recent times were always open to dispense petrol, had challenges meeting customers’ demand. This development became evident on Sunday.

The Chairman, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, Lagos Zone, Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo, told our correspondent on the telephone on Tuesday that the number of trucks loading fuel per day had reduced.

He also said loading of fuel at the Coconut area of Apapa, Lagos had been disrupted following the road construction work along the axis.

“Any marketer that has product along that corridor will not be able to load,” Korodo said.

Commenting on the state of the current state of the depots, he said, “Most depots are fast drying up. That is why there is a slight unofficial increase in the price of the product that is currently being sold at the Apapa depots. From N86 per litre, we now see some marketers selling for N90 to N91 (without trucks).

He said despite claims that the fourth quarter import allocation and its supplementary had been approved by the government, the non-payment of subsidies to marketers could make a nonsense of the move as importers would not be willing to do further importation.

“Marketers need money to bring in this product. They put down a lot of money to import the product, and may not be able to do additional importation if they are not paid as and when due.”

When our correspondent visited some depots at Apapa on Tuesday, many tankers were seen idle; only few were lifting products.

Depots where activities were spotted included Aiteo, Nipco and Conoil.

The idle tankers also worsened the traffic situation in the area making it difficult for car owners and other commuters to move freely.

The spokesperson for an oil marketing company in Apapa told our correspondent in confidence that the ex-depot price per litre had risen by over N1 following the pressure.

When our correspondent spoke with the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency’s spokesperson, Mr. Lanre Oladele, on the telephone, he said there were enough products in the country to last for another 50 days.

He confirmed that the fourth quarter import allocation as well as its supplementary allocation had been approved by the government.

According to him, some construction works were being done along the Apapa axis, which could be causing some supply challenges. “This does not mean product is not available,” he stressed.

When our correspondent reached the Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Olawore, he said the situation was being examined.

He declined to make further comment on subsidy payments or supply trends.

An independent oil marketer, who insisted he wanted to be anonymous, told our correspondent that some marketers were already complaining of non-payment of subsidy arrears.

He said the marketers were not willing to import because subsidy had not been paid on their past importation.

In October this year, the Federal Government through the PPPRA granted approval to oil marketing and trading companies to import 600,000 metric tonnes of petrol pending the approval of the fourth quarter fuel import allocations. This was part of the efforts to sustain regular supply of petrol in the country.

 

[Punch]