Are you also experiencing the scarcity, well, brace up because it is not about to end soon.
This looming scarcity which began yesterday, Monday was said
to have been as a result of delay in supply fuel vessels at the Apapa
port in Lagos.
The Executive secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association
of Nigeria, Mr. Obafemi Olawore told Punch that the scarcity was as a
result of shortage in supply, as NNPC had supplied 58 million litters of
petrol to Lagos and the major marketers were to get 40 million litres
and the remaining 18 million was for NIPCO and AITEO.
Obafemi
further said that the scarcity was as birthed due to the non-payment of
arrears of subsidy claims and rise in cost which has hindered the
importation of petrol since February.
He urged Nigerians to remain calm, as the situation will eventually ease up.
In
a counter claim, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Joseph Dawha,
described the rush for fuel as mere panic buying as the Federal
Government has put in place measures to aid effective supply of petrol.
maintained that there was enough stock to last the country till April
and the non-payment of subsidy claims to the marketers and foreign
exchange differentiation in foreign exchange rates have also been
promptly addressed.
He stated that the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala had approved the foreign exchange differentials which is
being done in batches to the marketers.
head of the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company, Petroleum
Products Pricing Regulatory Agency and the Department of Petroleum
Resources has said that the challenge is with the marketing companies.
It has to do with the Letters of Credit (LC) opening by the commercial
banks which is already being addressed.
The price of petrol has jacked up form N87 to a whooping N120 in Abuja the Federal Capital Territory and N100 in some remote areas of the country.
While it still remains at N87 in Lagos, it has remained unavailable.
Meanwhile, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP presidential campaign led by Femi Fani-Kayode has accused the All Progressives Congress, APC of initiating the the fuel subsidy scarcity.
The Director of Media and Publicity, Femi Fani-Kayode described the fuel scarcity as a calculated effort of the opposition, APC to frustrate the good works of the government.
He noted that the fuel marketers had taken sub-contract from the opposition to frustrate supplies of the product stating that a relationship exists between the marketers and one of the national leaders of the APC.
The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed on the other hand reacted saying “The question to ask are: who runs the NNPC? Who pays subsidy to the fuel marketers? Who has used federal government resources to bribe individuals and groups to such a level that there is no money to run the government, not to talk of paying subsidies?