Long queues at different fuel stations have become persistent in most states due to petrol scarcity.

Oil marketers under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria alluded to the problems in the downstream sector with a prediction that the current scarcity would not end until the government gave a clear position on subsidy removal, full deregulation and price determination.

The marketers had also refuted the Federal Government’s claim that it didn’t increase the pump price of petrol. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited enjoys an import monopoly of petrol into the country.

Buyers, however, turned to black market sellers who sold a litre of fuel between N200 and N250 against the approved pump price per litre of N165.

Subsidy payments reflecting humongous amount ridden in corruption and non-accountability are part of the problems in the oil sector.

Our correspondent who went round the town to speak with motorists and commuters noted that the situation was becoming unbearable. A commercial bus driver, Richard Ijie, who plies Agege Underbridge to Alausa, Lagos State, complained that the fuel scarcity had made driving a difficult job for them as they struggled to get fuel for their buses.

He stated that the current situation forced them to increase transport fares from the initial N150 to N200, adding that the development was greeted with protests from passengers.

Subsidy payments reflecting humongous amount ridden in corruption and non-accountability are part of the problems in the oil sector.

Our correspondent who went round the town to speak with motorists and commuters noted that the situation was becoming unbearable. A commercial bus driver, Richard Ijie, who plies Agege Underbridge to Alausa, Lagos State, complained that the fuel scarcity had made driving a difficult job for them as they struggled to get fuel for their buses.

He stated that the current situation forced them to increase transport fares from the initial N150 to N200, adding that the development was greeted with protests from passengers.

He said, “The truth is that the fuel scarcity is biting harder and harder every day. What we see every day is long queues everywhere and the prices are not the same at filling stations. Some sell at N300, N250, N280 and even N185. It depends on the fuel station. I ply Agege underbridge to Alausa and I charge each passenger N200. Before, it was N150 but the hike in the oil pump price also forced us to increase the fares. Though passengers complain every day, there is nothing we can do about it because we buy fuel at a high cost and we need to make profit. We have to add a little amount to the old fare.’’

He added that most of their passengers who were government workers often complained that they expended more on transportation to their workplaces amid non-salary increments.

Ijie appealed to the Federal Government to work on how the nation’s four refineries could be efficient to refine crude oil locally, rather than reining crude abroad. He noted that local crude refining would yield more productivity and tackle the perennial fuel scarcity in Nigeria.

He added, “Some passengers even beg for free rides but we cannot do that because we also spend a lot on fuel. If the Federal Government wants to remove fuel subsidy, they should do it at once because people are paying the fares they are not supposed to pay. If our refineries are working, I don’t think we will be buying fuel at the amount we do. They should work on our refineries or privatise them for things to change. I am always worried whenever the fuel is low because of the stress of buying more. The fuel stations are not selling. The ones selling are not cheap at all and the queue is exhausting.’’

Also, a minibus bus driver, Goddey Ogana, plying Omole to Agege Pen Cinema, said he used to make a daily profit of N7,000, stating that since the scarcity started a few weeks back, his profit had dropped considerably.

He complained that it was difficult to cope with the situation as he spent most of his proceeds on the petrol which he said he had no choice than to buy between N280 and N300 per litre.

He also lamented the hours wasted in queues at various fuel stations, saying it was energy-sapping.

He said, “Some are selling a litre of petrol for between N280 and N300 and the hours we spend in the queue is laborious. There are times we would be in the queue for four or five hours and at the end of the day nothing we would not get fuel to buy. If one takes N2,000 or N3,000 to a fuel station now, the quantity of petrol one will buy if available will not be much. I drive a minibus and regularly ply Agege Pen Cinema to Omole. Before, the fare was N100 per passenger but with the current situation, it is now N150. Initially, we increased it to N200 but complaints from passengers were much so we reduced it to N150 though the N50 added is nothing for us because it doesn’t make any difference. The amount we spend on fuel has eaten our profits. Sometimes, when returning from Omole to Agege, we charge passengers at N50 but such a period has passed.’’

The native of Cross River State lamented that unlike before when he would have made over N5,000 profit as of 2pm, he had yet to make a profit of N3,000.

He stated, “Earlier today (Thursday), I bought petrol for N280 per litre and since then I have been struggling to make a profit of N3,000. Because of the situation, we stopped being sympathetic to passengers when they beg for a free ride. We are also spending hugely on fuel. I don’t know why we are suffering to get it.

“The problem the drivers are facing now is that some passengers prefer to trek to a certain distance so that the amount they will spend for transportation will reduce. Some of them prefer to start their trekking as early as 5am so that they can beat their resumption time. The effect of this is that the drivers stay for a long period of time before filling the buses and it affects our daily income compared to when there was fuel. I used to make as much as N7, 000 daily after paying the necessary dues but the situation has changed.’’

Our correspondents observed private vehicle owners, motorcycle riders, commercial drivers and individuals with different sizes of kegs struggling in several long queues for fuel at a popular fuel station in Abule-Egba area of Lagos State. The situation however caused the blocking of a section of the road leading to the fuel station as other vehicles and passers-by forced their way through the route.

Also speaking to our correspondent, a tricycle rider, Olorungbebemi Oluwaseun, said he was forced by the situation to devise a strategy for his working hours. He noted that to be at an advantage over his colleagues he often resumed at Agege Underbridge as early as 6:30am daily to take early morning passengers to their various destinations.

The man in his earlier thirties added that rather than wasting hours in long queues at fuel stations, he would ask a hunting colleague to also get for him, while he continued with his business.

Fare hike disturb commuters
Most passengers who spoke with Saturday PUNCH lamented the hike in transport fares.

One of the commuters, Umar Usman, told our correspondent that there was little or nothing passengers could do about the increased fares.

On his part, another commuter in Agege who identified himself only as Omo Pastor, noted that the fuel scarcity and increase in transport fares were making passengers spend more than their budget capacity.

“It is funny that in this country we are still suffering. The money we spend on transportation to our workplace every day is more than the amount of money we earn monthly. Government should find a solution to this problem,” he said.

Also, a trader, Precious Jeremiah, complained that she often spends hours at bus stops waiting for buses that would at least reduce fare to her destination.

Contacted for his comment on the issue, the spokesperson for the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Oliseh Wakwe, sent a statement to our correspondent, which indicated that the energy-sapping queues were caused by exceptional high demand and bottlenecks in the fuel distribution chain. Wakwe added that high costs of logistics and exchange rates continued to put pressure on oil pump prices.

The statement further noted that the challenges of fuel scarcity and pump price hike could be tackled with full deregulation of the petroleum downstream sector to encourage liberalisation of supply and long-term investments in distribution assets.

The statement read in part, “The major cause is the shortage and high US dollar costs of vessels for ferrying products from mother vessels to depots along the coast. Next is the inadequate number of trucks to meet the demand t o deliver products from depots to filling stations nationwide. These high logistics and exchange rate costs continue to put pressure on prices at the pump. Companies have worked diligently at depots and filling stations to relieve the stress faced by customers. Our members have again agreed to extend depot loading hours as well as keep strategically situated service stations open for longer hours to ease access to fuels for our customers.’’

It added that MOMAN would continue to use its best endeavours to ensure sale of product at the pump prices currently approved by the regulatory authorities, despite pressure on price by demand and costs in the immediate operating environment.

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