Fuel scarcity may likely end in May –Marketers

Contrary to the pledge by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, that lingering fuel scarcity in the country would end on or before Thursday, April 7, marketers and depot owners said on Sunday that consumers might have to endure inadequate supply of the product till May.

The minister had initially given May as the most likely date for the fuel scarcity to abate but was forced to recant and say the situation should normalise latest by Thursday following criticisms from different segments of the country.

A source among the marketers told one of our correspondents in Lagos on Sunday that the situation on the ground did not give any hope that petrol would be readily available at filling stations this month.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said only one of the three parking spaces at the Apapa Port was discharging Premium Motor Spirit, adding that instead of the two vessels that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation had promised would discharge by last weekend, only one actually came in.

According to the source, the vessel, which carried 21 million metric tonnes of petrol, berthed at the Apapa Port on Thursday and only commenced discharging its content on Saturday.

Another source, who is an official of an independent marketer, said though his firm got the second quarter import permit just before Easter, it usually takes about three weeks to arrange all the logistics for importation, including the opening of Letters of Credit, sourcing for foreign exchange and arranging with foreign suppliers and shippers.

He explained, 

“The system is dislocated and even if the marketers decide to import now, it will take a minimum of 21 days for the fuel to come to Nigeria. The arrangement before now was for the marketers to import 60 per cent of the country’s petrol need, and the NNPC to bring in the balance.
“But the arrangement was changed midway for the NNPC to import 78 per cent, while the marketers were left with 22 per cent. However, the corporation lacks the capacity and facilities to do this well. It is doing less than 60 per of its allocation; so, I don’t know what magic it will perform to end the fuel scarcity by Thursday.”

Another marketer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that before now, his firm was getting on the average four cargos of PMS per quarter, but that the number had been reduced to one cargo of 30 million metric tonnes, which translated into about 120 trucks to service over 3,000 retail outlets.