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.
