The current nationwide scarcity of refined petroleum products
has reached a crisis point with a litre of petrol selling for
between N200 and N600 in many parts of the country, while
diesel, household kerosene and liquefied natural gas have also
become elusive.
Also, with power generation dropping to an all-time low of
1,327 megawatts, most Nigerian households are now living
without electricity as they have also run out of fuel to power
their generators.
Even before the dip in power generation, most Nigerian
households have been relying on generators as the main
source of their power supply while using the public power
supply as a backup. However, the fuel shortages which
started over a week ago, have made it impossible for
households to even get fuel to power their generators.
Although, daily fuel consumption nationwide is about 40
million litres per day, it is estimated that a sizeable proportion
of the demand goes into fuelling of generators.
“It is now impossible for me to get a four-litre fuel to run my
small generator,” a man who was in the queue in one of the
filling stations, told one of our correspondents on Sunday.
Also, a resident of one of the upscale estates in Magodo, who
identified himself as John Adebayo, told one of our
correspondents that he had been unable to run his generator
for three days because he could not get diesel to buy.
“I have money to buy diesel but it is just not available
anywhere. I can’t even pump water, it is really pathetic,”he
lamented.
Already, the situation has started affecting companies with
some firms like MTN and Airtel saying that they could not get
diesel to run generators at base stations.
Unless urgent steps are taken by the Federal Government and
all concerned stakeholders, many citizens will find it difficult
to get to their various places of work and business as from
today (Monday) due to the crippling scarcity of refined
petroleum products occasioned by the refusal of marketers to
import them and a strike by tanker drivers.
Our correspondents reported on Sunday that petrol had dried
up in almost all the filling stations nationwide, while black
marketers capitalised on the prevailing scarcity by selling the
product in jerry cans for between N200 and N600 per litre in
places like Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Kaduna and Oyo states, as well
as the Federal Capital Territory.
The situation affected vehicular movements in many parts of
Lagos and Ogun states on Sunday, with attendance at
religious centres unusually low, while commercial transport
operators raised their fares by over 300 per cent.
All the filling stations owned by major oil marketers visited by
our correspondents were under lock and key. Majority of the
independent petroleum products marketers were also not
selling petrol on Sunday.
The very few independent marketers with petrol were selling
the product for between N150 and N400 per litre, while black
market dealers were selling for between N500 and N600 per
litre in some of the stations visited.
A motorist plying the Berger-Mowe route traversing Lagos and
Ogun states, who simply identified himself as Ola, expressed
disappointment with the slow response of the government to
the problem, adding that with the situation on the ground,
workers would have to part with a lot of money to get to their
offices on Monday (today).
A commercial transport operator in Ikorodu, Lagos, told one of
our correspondents that he bought 30 litres of petrol for
N12,000 instead of N2,610 at the regulated price of N87 per
litre.
It was gathered that virtually all the filling stations in Osun
State had run out of petrol as of Sunday, thereby forcing the
residents to stay indoors.
A major petroleum products’ marketer told one of our
correspondents that the Federal Government had refused to
meet them to resolve the lingering issues surrounding the
payment of the subsidy arrears owed the marketers.
The marketer, who pleaded anonymity, said since the last
meeting they had with the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, on May 4, nothing had changed.
The Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of
Nigeria, Mr. Thomas Olawore, said though the marketers had
reached out to the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, on
the lingering fuel supply problems, they had yet to get a
positive response.
He confirmed that the marketers were not importing petrol at
the moment, because they did not have the wherewithal to do
so.
The spokesperson for the Department of Petroleum Resources,
Mr. Saidu Muhammed, said the product scarcity was primarily
due to the ongoing workers’ strike in the NNPC.
He said, “Products are not coming out from the depots and
there’s virtually nothing anybody can do for now. But
hopefully, when they resolve the strike, things may become
normal.
“The strike by the NNPC workers is affecting all the depots.
And until the strike is called off, there will be no loading.
There is no loading in almost all the depots across the
country and so products are not coming out.”
Meanwhile, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has
noted with concern the current energy crisis facing the
country, which it describes as unprecedented.
In a statement signed by its President, Alhaji Remi Bello, the
LCCI called on President Goodluck Johnathan to bring a halt
to the imminent collapse of economic and social life in the
country.
Bello said, “There should be an immediate engagement of
stakeholders in the petroleum industry to discuss the
outstanding issues of indebtedness and related labour matters
in the interest of the economy and the citizens. The situation
should not be allowed to degenerate any further.
“The Lagos Chamber urges the incoming administration to
immediately deregulate the oil and gas downstream sector on
assumption of office in order to provide an enduring solution
to the recurring problem of petroleum products’ scarcity,
corruption inherent in the subsidy regime, the collapse of
refineries, lack of investment in the downstream sector, loss of
jobs and so on.
“Options available to the incoming administration in this
matter are very limited. The current regime of subsidy and
government’s direct involvement in the operations of oil and
gas sector should be discontinued. Government needs to get
out of the way, so that the sector and the economy as a
whole can make progress. This will pave the way for the
restoration of normalcy in the sector and attract private
capital, boost investments and create jobs.”
Similarly, a Global System of Mobile communications provider,
Airtel Networks Limited, said in a statement that its
commitments to delivering best-in-class quality of service and
seamless telephony experience to all Nigerians was being
affected by its inability to procure diesel for its base stations.
The company stated, “While we are currently doing everything
within our means as well as going the extra mile to ensure
that all our base stations and switches are up and running, it
is sad to note that it is becoming increasingly difficult to
replenish current stock of diesel due to the lingering scarcity
of the product.
“We are also concerned that, if the situation persists, it may
have adverse effects on our network, impacting both voice and
data services.”
MTN Nigeria had issued a similar statement on Saturday.
A faction of the Nigeria Labour Congress led by Mr. Joe
Ajaero said on Sunday in Kaduna that the current fuel scarcity
across the country was a war against Nigerians.
It, therefore, warned that should the scarcity persist,
organised labour would have no choice than to embark on an
indefinite strike.
This was contained in a statement by the factional Deputy
President of the NLC, Alhaji Issa Aremu, which was made
available to newsmen in Kaduna on Sunday.
Culled: Punch
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