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Petrol queues resurface as marketers cut imports

By on October 14, 2015

Following a reduction in the importation of Premium Motor Spirit (otherwise called petrol) into the country, long queues have started resurfacing at filling stations in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and other states of the federation as well as the Federal Capital Territory.

Loading of petrol at the depots has also reduced significantly as of Tuesday, our correspondents learnt from market sources.

Many filling stations in Ikoyi, Agege, Ikeja, Ogba, Iju in Lagos, and Berger, Ajuwon and Akute in Ogun State, among others, were shut on Tuesday, with the sales attendants claiming that they had no petrol to sell.

Similarly, the queues for fuel by motorists, which became noticeable in the FCT on Monday night intensified on Tuesday.

Motorists were seen on long queues waiting to buy petrol at the few filling stations that sold the product.

Although officials of some of the petrol stations stated that they had no idea as to why there was fuel scarcity, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation described the development as panic buying.

Despite the NNPC’s stance, hundreds of motorists formed long queues at the two petrol stations, Total and Conoil, located directly opposite the headquarters of the corporation in Abuja on Tuesday.

The Executive Secretary, Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Olufemi Adewole, told one of our correspondents on the telephone that members of the group were loading the available products from the depots.

Adewole said about 10 out of the 42 members of the association were currently importing PMS, adding that those who were not bringing in the product at the moment had exhausted their allocations for the third quarter.

He also added that not all members of DAPPMA were participating in the Petroleum Support Fund scheme.

The DAPPMA spokesperson said, “To the best of my knowledge, we are loading the products that we have. It is one thing to load what we have, it is another thing for the product we load to be enough.

“Government is till owing us, but we were assured by the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, that something will be paid to us between now and the first or second week of November.”

Adewole noted that most banks had withdrawn credit lines from the oil marketers as a result of the subsidy-related debts owed them.

He said, “The marketers who are able to convince their banks are the ones currently importing. But they are very few.

“For some of our members who have not been able to complete their allocation for the quarter, the delay is because the banks have taken back their credit lines from the marketers.”

The Executive secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Thomas Olawore, declined to comment on the development.

But two marketers, who spoke to one of our correspondents from depots in Apapa, Lagos, confirmed the drop in loading activities.

One of them said the respect the marketers had for the current government was the reason they had not reacted to the non-payment of their subsidy arrears up till now.

The NNPC, while reacting to the development in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, urged members of the public to avoid panic buying of petroleum products, especially petrol.

The corporation said it had enough stock of the product to keep the entire country wet for 23 days.

It stressed that the current queues were as a result of rumours of impending scarcity of petrol.

The NNPC said besides the recent meeting of its management with members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association to rally them for the uninterrupted fuel supply policy of the government, it had set up a monitoring team at the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company to check sharp practices that could breach the distribution and supply system.

 

[Punch]