Despite claims by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited that the logistic issues causing fuel scarcity had been addressed, Nigerians in Lagos and other parts of the country were still struggling to get Premium Motor Spirit as many filling stations remained under lock and key throughout the weekend.
The PUNCH independently gathered that the situation might worsen in Lagos and other parts of the South-West like Ogun, Oyo, Osun and others because there was a directive by the NNPCL that fuel trucks must first service the Federal Capital Territory before any other place. As a result, the majority of trucks leaving the depots in Lagos since Friday were heading for Abuja.
Officials of the NNPCL and marketers told our correspondents that there was a directive that depots should service Abuja filling stations before any other part of the nation. They worried that queues might linger for the next three days in the South-West.
According to the oil sector sources, hundreds of trucks loaded on Saturday were sent to Abuja based on the NNPCL directive. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the press on the matter, also disclosed that the product was being rationed by the NNPCL, which now allocates 5,000 metric tonnes of fuel instead of 10,000MT to depots.
“Because of the scarcity, there are directives that the product should be rationed. Depots now get about 220 trucks, which is half what they usually get. This is happening because of the erratic supply. If the NNPCL had enough supply, it would give everybody what they needed, and there would be no queues,” one of the officials stated.
According to an operator, the erratic supply has been caused by the national energy company’s inability to import enough at the moment.
“The cause of the erratic supply is because the NNPCL does not have enough fuel imported. Regardless of the money or anything, the NNPCL sometimes experiences glitches in its supply. For example, at the NNPCL Jetty in Apapa, as of Saturday, there was only one tanker at ASPM which can take about 40,000 metric tonnes; the three other reception points had no PMS vessel.
“Whenever the NNPCL has disruptions in importation, we start having these issues. They will try hard to manage it, but it will later blow open. Last week, they said it was a result of logistics, but this is not about logistics; it’s about glitches in importation.
“All our trucks now are heading to Abuja. There was a directive to all dealers and marketers that they should serve Abuja first. All regulatory agencies know that products will go to Abuja until normalcy is restored. You can have your truck in the depot now for three to four days; they will just be telling you to hold on. You will not know what is happening. You will see other trucks going, not knowing their location determines their loading ahead of you,” the operator noted.
He added, “The South West will likely experience more queues in the next two to three days because the Abuja loading will continue until Monday. The government is prioritising Abuja; they want the seat of power to have enough fuel supply.” Speaking, the National Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Hammed Fashola, expressed hope that the queues in Lagos and Ogun would ease off between Monday and Wednesday, relying on the words of the NNPCL.
Fashola, however, stated that the queues in Abuja might tarry a bit due to the distance to Lagos.
“The information available to us from the NNPCL was that there was a logistics problem, and when that happens, it will disrupt the supply chain. That might be a delay in the movement of ships from the mother vessel to the daughter vessel before it gets to the depot tanks. Before we can correct that, surely it will take some days. I think by Tuesday or Wednesday, there will be more products available for lifting by marketers. It might take time before it can ease off in Abuja, considering the distance to Lagos and the bad roads; Lagos might be calm this new week,” Fashola assured. When told that it was gathered that NNPC was rationing PMS supply and prioritising supply to Abuja, thereby causing scarcity in South-West, the spokesperson for the NNPC, Olufemi Soneye, declared that the claim was totally false.
“Completely false. That is false information. Is he (the dealer) tracking every truck to determine their destinations? If there are disruptions in fuel distribution for two-three days, it usually takes twice that time to return to normal. The situation should improve soon. One important point to note is that we have product availability.
“If they are familiar with the industry, they should be aware of this. Products need to be delivered to the states,” Soneye explained. The PUNCH reported that the scarcity, which started last week, has continued to spread despite the NNPCL’s assurances on Thursday that the issues had been addressed.
Our correspondent reports that the Ogun State residents have been lamenting the lack of fuel since last week. Fuel has become a scarce commodity from Abeokuta to the West and East of the Gateway State.
Many filling stations in Abeokuta did not dispense fuel on Sunday. The very few ones dispensing fuel sold a litre of petrol at the rate of N670, N700 and above.
At the NNPCL, where the product was sold at N580/litre, there were long queues of motorists who spent hours waiting and fighting one another to buy fuel. As a result, black marketers made brisk business selling to willing buyers at higher prices ranging from N700 to N900.
People living in border communities like Idiroko said they now buy fuel at the rate of N1,200 from black marketers, saying the current scarcity exacerbated the effect of the ban on fuel supply in their areas.
“The 20km ban on fuel supply in border communities is really affecting us at the Idiroko border,” said Mr Femi Abel, a civil servant in Ajegunle.
As of Sunday, only the Heyden filling station sold fuel in Iperu, Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State, and there was a long queue of buyers. “The few filling stations that were opened sold a litre for between N700 and N850, although the NNPCL filling stations were selling for N580/litre, but the queue was very long.
“This is disturbing because nobody can say exactly what is causing this scarcity. It is regrettable that we must be left to continue to suffer in this country.”
Mr Rilwan Soyele, a commercial motorcycle rider, said fuel was sold between N830 and N900 in Sagamu.
Soyele said, “Many filling stations are not selling fuel in Sagamu. The least we buy fuel here is N750 and above. Some are even selling a litre at N900.
“It is really frustrating and sad that nobody is saying this is what is causing this scarcity. It is like the oil marketers just wish to punish us, and the government is saying nothing”.
Mr Musibau Fawole, who spoke with one of our correspondents from one of the communities in Ipokia Local Government, explained that a litre of fuel in the border communities went for between N1000 and N1200 per litre.
The PUNCH gathered that the development has raised transport fares, especially among commercial motorcyclists and cab drivers.
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