Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has promised to end the queues for Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, by Wednesday, as the black market for PMS becomes more lucrative.
In addition, the national oil company said on Sunday that it did not owe foreign oil companies $6.8 billion as had been reported in certain quarters. This announcement was cited by some industry experts as a major reason for the widespread PMS scarcity in Nigeria.
However, in spite of this assurance to end the qeues for petrol by the NNPC, oil marketers stated on Sunday that the loading of products at depots has not improved.
Black marketers of petrol who sold the commodity in jerrycans took advantage of the situation, as they dispensed PMS for as high as N1,200 to N1,500/litre, depending on the area of purchase.
“It’s just an evacuation challenge out of Apapa (ports in Lagos) from the vessel. But we are working on it. It should be resolved. I’m very sure that fuel scarcity will be cleared out by Wednesday,” Soneye stated on Sunday.
He later issued a press statement on the matter, saying, “The NNPC Ltd regrets the tightness in fuel supply witnessed in some parts of Lagos and the FCT (Federal Capital Territory), which is as a result of distribution challenges.
“The company further urges motorists to shun panic buying as it is working round the clock with relevant stakeholders to restore normalcy.”
However, operators said that the fuel supply situation at the depots had yet to improve as of Sunday.
“We don’t have supply yet. For us and many depots in Apapa, it’s nil stock,” the official, who spoke in confidence due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, stated.
An oil marketer revealed that since there has been no improvement in supply, the shortage in Lagos could get worse during the week.
“The scarcity may get worse in Lagos during the week. Nothing is changing yet. Though motorists still get the product to buy although at very high rates,” the marketer disclosed.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chief Ukadike Chinedu, stated that the problems in the downstream oil sector were aggravated by the recent nationwide hunger protests.
“Aside from the fact that there is not enough supply, the recent protests disrupted activities in the downstream oil sector. We are still struggling to sort that one out and there is also the challenge of low supply of petrol,” he stated.
