Fuel Price Soars By 50% At Depots As Scarcity Bites

NNPC Towers, Abuja

• IPMAN orders 24hrs dispensing

Price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol soared by about 50 per cent at retail outlets following the hike in price of the product at the depots, it was learnt. A daily industry price survey conducted by marketers at depots in Apapa, Lagos, revealed that yesterday’s average price per litre of PMS was ₦112 as against the normal price of ₦77.66 per litre. The MRS depot sold at ₦110 per litre, Honeywell sold at ₦111, while Folawiyo and Capital Oil and Gas sold at ₦115 per litre respectively, reflecting an increase of about 50 per cent.

The Nation report continues:

Fuel tanker drivers were seen milling around the gates of the depots looking for people that would facilitate easy access to Depot managers to enable them buy the product, even at such high prices because some of them have spent weeks waiting for their trucks to be loaded with product.

One of the marketers, who asked not to be identified, told The Nation that currently, none of them (marketers) has fuel because, as he put it, “there is no money to import,” saying that because demand far outstrips supply now, there are grave sharp practices at the depots. He noted that the depots of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) still sell at the regulated price of ₦77.66 per litre, but immediately the loaded truck comes out of the gate, the product is sold to the waiting tanker drivers and marketers who are willing to pay higher margins.

The marketer was of the view that price of petrol may rise to as high as ₦200 per litre at filling stations in Lagos before the week runs off, stating that it is only the NNPC that currently imports and it lacks the capacity to distribute and meet the 50 per cent daily national consumption it claims to possess. He said the turnaround time of the vessels that bring supply NNPC fuel, is very slow. Unlike marketers that use three days to discharge their vessels, each of the NNPC’s vessels takes over one week to discharge, putting pressure on demand. The timeframe between the discharge of one vessel and another is long, he said.

The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, Ohi Alegbe, said the marketers are being economical with the truth because of the subsidy money owed them. There is enough to go round if the marketers sincerely distribute it, adding that the Corporation recently decided to be publishing its daily fuel supply from the depots, indicating the quantities given to marketers and the trucks that took the products, to confirm transparency and commitment of the government to providing fuel for the populace, alleging that some marketers want to discredit the government by diverting and hoarding the fuel given to them.

He said the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu had a meeting on Wednesday last week with the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA) and the Jetty and Petroleum Tank Farm Owners of Nigeria (JEPTFON), and NIPCO, to find ways to bringing the fuel scarcity to an end, and they pledged their support. He stated that the Minister assured them that the subsidy debt would soon be paid because President Muhammadu Buhari has sent a letter to members of the National Assembly regarding the matter.

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), has commenced 24 hours dispensing of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to end the fuel scarcity across the nation.

President of IPMAN, Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo, in statement yesterday, said this was part of its effort to end the hardship of motorists in the country.

He said after meeting with the officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other security operatives last week in Abuja, the body agreed to commence dispensing across major cities nonstop based on certain conditions.

“The scarcity would soon end. NNPC management assured us of sufficient supplies, and based on the loading template, we have started seeing the changes.”

He said the directives affect members that operate within the major cities in the country, urging that any marketer that has security issues while dispensing, should contact the security operatives, or the IPMAN headquarters in Abuja, or its zonal offices.

Okworonkwo said some of the major challenges in the past, included failure to adequately supply its members with enough fuel, while some depot owners deliberately decided to deny his members products even though they have paid for it for a very long time.