The supply hitches associated with the distribution of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, may persist till June this year, oil marketers stated on Wednesday.

Nigeria’s downstream oil sector has been grappling with cases of incessant petrol scarcity since last year.

The sole importer of the commodity – Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, has repeatedly complained of the enormous burden of shouldering fuel subsidy for the country.

On Monday, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, said NNPC was selling petrol at a loss because of its mandate from the Federal Government as regards fuel subsidy.

“If you are a businessman, look at it from this perspective, that you are now in the business where you are mandated to sell at a loss to the public. That is not an easy job, I must tell you,” the minister stated.

Last week, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said the Federal Government had budgeted about N3.6tn for fuel subsidy till June 2023.

Reacting to the development, oil marketers stated on Wednesday that the fuel supply crisis in many parts of the country that often leads to fuel scarcity, might persist till June, based on the government’s plan to end petrol subsidy in that month.

The National Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chief Ukadike Chinedu, told our correspondent that fuel imports and subsidy were making Nigerians suffer.

He said, “This issue of subsidy and the importation of petroleum products are the major reasons why we are suffering like this and having epileptic supply of PMS. This may drag till the current administration leaves in May or till June this year.

“The exchange rate is affecting fuel imports, which is also why the cost of petroleum products are high. We use too much naira to chase the few dollars that are available. So the solution is for us to refine our crude here and get our depots working.”

He added, “Also, we should note that most times when an administration is leaving, there is usually scarcity of products. It happened during the time of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

“This is because suppliers will be very weary of selling petroleum products so that their debts will not be carried over to the next administration. Successive governments have suffered this epileptic distribution of petroleum products during transition to a new government.

“The government is winding up, and if you are a supplier you have to be careful in terms of supplying petroleum products. Remember that when Jonathan was there, marketers who were supplying products stopped and went on strike, demanding that they must be paid their arrears.”

The President, Petroleum Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, also stated that the availability of petrol for marketers to distribute had remained an issue of concern.

“Let there be products to sell. That is what we are yearning for. Once that problem is sorted, then others shall be addressed too,” he stated.

Commenting on the issue, a former President, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, Dr. Sam Nzekwe, told our correspondent that the crisis in the downstream oil sector would be best addressed when Nigeria’s refineries become functional.

IPMAN complains

The Chairman, IPMAN Satellite depot, Akin Akinrinade, told The PUNCH that its members were yet to take delivery of any product from the state oil firm.

He said, “We have yet to see anything. They promised us something in December, but now they said January. All they’ve done is ask us to submit names and change from the old system-NNPC Express to NNPC Retail. Other than that, we are yet to receive any product.

“But I can assure you that this scarcity will continue well after June if NNPCL does not supply us products directly and at regulated price.”

Akinrinade also said the price of fuel had hit between N222/N225 at private depots as of last Friday.

National Operations Controller, IPMAN, Mike Osatuyi, also told The PUNCH that his members were yet to get any product from the NNPCL.

“We are still waiting. We will wait until the middle of this month before we react. But as of last week, our members buy fuel above N200 per litre. But information reaching me is that as of today, the price has increased to N230 per litre, without transportation and other expenses”, he said.

In December, Osatuyi had told The PUNCH that his members were holding strategic meetings with the new NNPCL Retail Managing Director, Hubb Stockman, who promised to supply them products directly at government regulated price of N148/litre starting from this month.

However, members of the association, according to Osatuyi and Akinrinnade, were yet to receive any products despite having compiled necessary lists, and switching from the old NNPCL Express platform, to the NNPCL Retail as directed by Stockman.

The PUNCH reached out to the Executive Secretary of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Clement Isong, on why some of its members did not have products.

He had yet to respond as of the time of filing this report.

However, a top member of the MOMAN who claimed anonymity told The PUNCH, that although the scarcity had eased, some of its stations currently do not have supplies.

“The scarcity has eased and things have gone back to normal. No queues and our stations sell at normal regulated prices. However, some of our stations who don’t have supplies will be supplied”, he had told The PUNCH last Thursday.

The spokesperson for the Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, Adewole Olufemi, said the depots were in need of more fuel supplies from the NNPCL.

“Until and unless the queues are completely eliminated, we’ll require more volume than usual, DAPPMAN cannot be satisfied. We’re working with the sole supplier, NNPC Ltd and the regulator to ensure PMS is available nationwide”, he said regarding the scarcity.

On skyrocketing ex-depot’s prices, Adewole said just like the NNPCL, depot owners were also on a recover-all-cost regime.

“Costs incurred by marketers, vessel chartering, trucking and approved margins will be recovered just as NNPC Ltd does to recover its cost inputs”, he added.

The spokesperson for NNPCL, Garba Deen, could not be reached on his official line for his comment.

Source: https://punchng.com/Marketers-predict-six-month-fuel-scarcity-prices-rise

This is the longest uninterrupted fuel scarcity in Nigeria’s history.

Even Abacha was not this incompetent.

This is gross incompetence on the part of this adminstration and it still baffles me that we still import finished products of crude oil into this country.

Minister of petroleum (Buari ) , NNPC and all the marketers shouldn't take advantage of the up coming general elections to inflict more pains on us .

What about the 2023 budgetary provision for fuel subsidy or it's not going to take effect which I doubt because of the deep corruptions in this country and I hope when fuel subsidy is removed by whoever wins the general elections, the money won't be embezzled as well.

There is only one answer and that is the removal of subsidies totally.

Otherwise there is going to be scarcity whoever is in charge because the price controls inherent in subsides will prevent profits being made which would lead to scarcity

The free money from subsidy leads to corruption and stealing.

The mass smuggling of cheap fuel means we lose billions for nothing. Mass smuggling that both big and small people do

And it is obvious that 50 years of subsidy has resulted in the decline of domestic refining capacity.

Remove subsidy. Let the market control the price. Just like we do for other things

But this apc govt wants to keep believing in the false god called cheap fuel. And they sacrifice our economy and future on its altar


Modified

You can disagree with me without losing your mind. As someone here has done so politely and I have responded to him politely.

When you say subsidy must go.....some people come and start screaming and crying and weeping

Here is one of them

Npfn:
Nigerians this is a paid agent working for removal of subsidy do not believ all his write up you can look at his thread and see failed agent subsidy must continue with big punishment to defaulters

Npfn:
all written are lies and Nigerians will never accept this we know your paid to write long epistles on subsidy thread but you have failed

Npfn:
Nigerians this is a paid agent working for removal of subsidy do not believ all his write up you can look at his thread and see failed agent subsidy must continue with big punishment to defaulters

For the record...and you are free not to believe me

1.I am not a paid agent, nor do I work for the government or the petroleum sector

2.I was pro-subsidy from 1993 till 2011, when I woke up thanks to the enlightenment of people like Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and Ngozi Okonjo Iweala

3.The final nail in my coffin of believing in subsidy was when in 2012 i was introduced to the concept of landing cost. Whose implications not only shocked me, but helped me finally wake up to why government was trying to remove subsidy then

4.Since then, I have been a ferocious opponent of subsidy.


If you like, you can call me a liar, a thief, a buhari supporter (I have never voted for Buhari and never will). .....but if Tinubu, Atiku and Obi are saying that subsidy should go and you have not woken up....then I cannot help you.



And to the person quoted above.....grow up.

Badb0y4lyf:


This guy is a paid agent always on every thread about subsidy removal he is part of the cabals

When they have no argument, this is what they resort to. Abuse. And they all sound alike...like Tinubu zombies.

See as dey throw around the word 'paid agent' like it is candy.

Empty cymbals make the loudest noise.

Think this brand is long over dew and a new union can take it's space

Total over oil of all government offices
They teacher politicia how to steal

Each time I remember the fanfare that brought this calamitous failure called Buhari to power, I shake my head repeatedly in disbelief of what has befallen this nation now.

Where are the YAM EATERS crooners?
Where are the NEW SHERIF in town crooners?
Where are the INTEGRITY man crooners?
Where are the WHISTLE BLOWER crooners?

People can really be educated but not smart.
Another worse calamity is warming up. This time they don't preach he has integrity, it is he developed LAGOS . Haaaa, there are sworn enemies of this country ooo.

Obi to the rescue my people

So, na play we still dey play?

I remember this administration promised to make all the refineries in Nigeria function within 6month of its emergence.

Here we are now, still chasing the ghost.

Subsidy go do us shege

To all those blaming Buhari, shey na him refuse to revamp the refineries all these years?

We have had 3 administrations before him and none of them worked on our refineries or at least took a step towards building a new one.

We now have Port Harcourt refinery about to start work in the coming months, latest 2024 and the oga pata pata of them all Dangote refinery about to be commissioned.

We are faced with the consequences of bad leadership starting from Obasanjo the ghost face killer.

Omo as e be now, na Dangote and PH Refineries me dey just dey wait...

God we cry to you, help us , this country is hard

SpecialAdviser:
Each time I remember the fanfare that brought this failure called Buhari to power, I shake my head repeatedly in disbelief of what has befallen this nation now.

Where are the YAM EATER crooners?
Where are the NEW SHERIF in town crooners?
Where are the INTEGRITY man crooners?

People can really be educated but not smart.
Another worse calamity is warming up. This time they don't preach he has integrity, it is he developed LAGOS . Haaaa, there are sworn enemies of this country.

Dis day, I hardly comment about dis gotv and s d untold hardship bcs no matter how rough and tough d jungle is, Lion can never eat grasses, I won't complain bcs I will always see animals to eat.
15 million useless zombies that felt that grabbing power with propaganda would do them a favour.
I was fully active during d 2019 general elections and I was telling them that Buhari has no business coming back to aso rock for d second time, but names were called, insults here and their. Look at d situation.
on daily bases, I do receive random sms's from all these loan sharks about those owing them and d funny thing about dis whole shit is that I never came across d debtors in my life before, all thanks to buhari and his 15 millions useless zombie supporters.

Abeg we are tired of bad news

Nothing stops our government from subsidizing fuel; other countries subsidize in different ways...from food production to health and more. Unfortunately, this is Nigeria and the subsidy on fuel is being mismanaged with the subsidized fuel being sold at neighboring countries! I just wonder how this government can shamelessly condemn fuel subsidy, with a straight face after frustrating GEJ and making him look like a demon when he proposed the same thing!

Shame on everyone in petroleum sector starting from the oga at the top big shame

This wahala no too much?

People are still campaigning for APC

"if it is true they won the election, then we would need to examine Nigerians as a people, if there is something wrong with our ability to take punishment. Do we ever get tired of punishment? Do we ever get tired of being abused? - Sowore


Be true to yourself and vote for a man who will not rule Nigeria by proxy

A man who no cabal can control
A man who is ready to speak to us at all times
A man who can be held accountable

Vote Peter Gregory Obi for a working Nigeria that eradicates the old system and ursher us into a new dispensation of a working nation

Peter Obi for me
Peter Obi for you
Peter Obi for all NAIRALANDERS including @ CoronaVirusRelo

Nigeria one of the highest world oil producing national still suffering for common fuel ...no be juju be dat ...

For some people to still be campaigning for APC at the national level means there's a huge fundamental problem.

Yet buhari is the minister of petroleum.... this is shameful.. while ships are still awaiting orders to doc in lagos petroleum...

I wonder why na only Lagos them dey Dock...

The people that helped bring this disaster to power,may it never be well with them

Why are the refineries not working yet?
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illegal oil refining at this time won't be a bad idea. we should see it as a palliative measure for the common Nigerian as our government continue to dey play.

emmanuelbrown26:

Dis day, I hardly comment about dis gotv and s d untold hardship bcs no matter how rough and tough d jungle is, Lion can never eat grasses, I won't complain bcs I will always see animals to eat.
15 million useless zombies that felt that grabbing power with propaganda would do them a favour.
I was fully active during d 2019 general elections and I was telling them that Buhari has no business coming back to aso rock for d second time, but names were called, insults here and their. Look at d situation.
on daily bases, I do receive random sms's from all these loan sharks about those owing them and d funny thing about dis whole shit is that I never came across d debtors in my life before, all thanks to buhari and his 15 millions useless zombie supporters.

The problem is that these guys reason myopically and are unrepentant tribal bigots. While their parents suffer in the village, they manage to save their salary to run away from the country still supporting the very calamity that is chasing them. To them, their ego first.
It's a big Shame

We have seen it all under this calamitous APC government

5

My ppl buhari hands are tied and his Muslim brothers wont let him do the right thing. These guys are stealing our oil on daily basis unannounced. How can nnpc be recording oil export on a sheet of paper and we call this a country. Even customs nor weigh and balance dont have a single record of oil exports.

They should remove subsidy let all rest please

Babastrong:
Let me starting hoarding business till June.
Abeg who will borrow me #1m?

Doing business with it isn’t bad…. Na another means of having food on your plate in this harsh economy.
But think about your safety ooo.
No go burn landlord house oo
Landlord dey somewhere dey hustle for food, thinking atleast he has a building already, na only food remain….
Tenant dey here dey plan how burn the house down.
Even if na your own house, please be careful.
I will say please don’t do it.