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.
0 comments :
Post a Comment