Loading of petroleum products commenced at fuel depots
in Apapa, Lagos, on Monday afternoon, although Nigerians
are still counting the cost of the crippling energy crisis.
The resumption of product loading followed the suspension
of the strike by marketers and workers of the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation.
Two marketers confirmed the development to one of our
correspondents in separate telephone interviews.
The marketers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said
Nipco and Capital Oil loaded products on Monday.
One of them, who is a member of the Major Oil Marketers
Association of Nigeria, said all the major marketers were
likely to commence loading today (Tuesday).
It was gathered that other depot owners aside from Nipco
and Capital Oil could not start loading on Monday because
they did not have facilities for overnight loading.
Another marketer said normalcy would likely return to the
depots by Friday as the current product scarcity had
already eaten deep into the system.
In Abuja, marketers of petroleum products resolved to
mobilise their members for the immediate distribution of
fuel across the country at a public hearing organised by the
Joint Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources
(Upstream and Downstream).
The Co-Chairman of the joint committee, Senator Magnus
Abe, who read a communique signed by the representatives
of the major stakeholders, explained that the Minister of
Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and others at the meeting
unanimously agreed to the deal in interest of the nation.
He also explained that following the intervention of the
Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation, Dr. Joseph Dawah, the strike embarked upon
by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers
and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association
of Nigeria had been called off.
Abe said that the Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers
Association of Nigeria, Mr. Obafemi Olawore, had agreed to
direct members of the body nationwide to start lifting
petroleum products from 7pm on Monday, while the body
equally agreed to pay the National Association of Road
Transport Owners the transport cost for the products that
would be determined by them.
The energy crisis currently rocking the nation has thrown
the manufacturing sector into a near state of redundancy.
While lots of the manufacturers have embarked on working
half schedules to cope, others are planning to shut down
production completely until the situation improves.
Some of the manufacturers, who spoke to one of our
correspondents in Lagos, said they had decided to cut down
their working hours because of the acute shortage of
petroleum products and electricity to run their factories.
A pure water maker, Mandu Obi, said he was buying diesel
for N800 per litre instead of the previous N150.
“My plant needs about 1,000 litres of diesel to work every
day. For a small business owner like me, I don’t see how I
can keep up with such expenses. I had 1,500 litres of diesel
left from last week and this morning, I decided to top it only
to spend four times what I usually spend on a litre of
diesel,” she recounted.
The President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Mr.
Frank Jacobs, said manufacturers were losing a lot of
money as a result of the energy crisis.
He added that no one could put a figure to the amount
being lost, but admitted that the manufacturers were losing
a lot of money.
The Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and
Industry, Mr. Muda Yusuf, said the situation had completely
crippled the manufacturing sector.
He said, “A lot of people are cutting down their working
hours. Some companies have also shut down. It is a very
bad situation. It is crippling businesses that depend on
diesel and fuel.
“It is affecting productivity because instead of working for
eight hours, companies are forced to work for only two or
three hours.
“The public power situation is not reliable and the fall-back
position is diesel or petrol. Now, both of them are not
available. There are very few businesses that can be run
without energy.”
Most civil servants were absent from work in Abuja on
Monday as a result of the nationwide fuel scarcity.
Only a few people reported for work at the Federal
Secretariat located in the Central District, a part of the city
that is always crowded.
By 2pm, most offices at the secretariat had been deserted
as the few civil servants who turned up for work had gone
home.
The fuel scarcity also took a toll on the banking sector as
five prominent banks in the country had to close their
branches in the Federal Capital Territory by 1pm on
Monday.
They are Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, Skye
Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank Plc and First Bank of
Nigeria Limited.
Similarly, many banks and insurance companies in Kwara
State closed early on Monday because of the lingering fuel
scarcity.
The situation was not different in Lagos as the banks and
other offices closed early.
Our correspondent, who monitored the development in
Ilorin, the state capital, observed that many of the banks
stopped allowing customers entry into the banking halls
from 1pm as against the normal 4pm.
Most filling stations visited by one of our correspondents in
the FCT on Monday were not dispensing petrol, thus
increasing the hardship of the residents many of whom
were seen trekking long distances due to hikes in transport
fares.
It was learnt that a bus ride from Nyanya to Wuse, which
hitherto cost between N150 and N200, went for N300 on
Monday.
Taxi fares have also doubled as the operators now charge a
minimum of N1,000 for journeys that normally cost
between N500 and N700.
In Ondo, some members of the state Chapter of the National
Union of Road Transport Workers staged a protest against
the acute scarcity of refined petroleum products.
For almost two hours, commercial vehicles in Akure, the
state capital, were stopped from operating, especially on the
popular Oba Adesida and Oyemekun roads, by the
protesting NURTW members while some drivers who had
already taken passengers were forcefully ordered to drop
them.
As a result of this development, the commuters did not have
any alternative but to continue on their journeys by trekking,
while those who could not trek returned home.
Business activities were substantially paralysed in
Abeokuta and most major cities in Ogun State on Monday.
Some of the banks in Abeokuta shut their doors against
their customers around 12noon, while some did not open
for business.
Many civil servants resumed late for work, whil e some did
not bother to leave their homes due to the few number of
commercial vehicles on the road.
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