Fuel queues return to Lagos amid supply hiccups

After more than a year of relief from fuel scarcity in the country, filling stations in some parts of Lagos experienced queues on Monday, while some refused to sell Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, to motorists. The pockets of fuel queues in Lagos emerged few days after the Independent Petroleum Markers Association of Nigeria, Lagos State chapter, accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation of under-supplying its members with petrol. IPMAN had said last week that its members in Lagos and parts of Ogun State might be forced to shut their filling stations by December 11 if the situation persisted. 

A source, who is an executive of a Lagos-based oil marketing company, told our correspondent, "This is the second week in which supply has not been very robust.” The rationing started the previous week. The NNPC has been the major supplier, and there have been distribution dislocations since the Apapa jetty got burnt, making it difficult for major oil marketers to get products; they have to be doing throughput with other companies, because they can’t receive products through that line until the repair is completed.” 

Noting that demand for petrol had increased due to the approaching Yuletide, he said depot prices had gone up. “So many depots are selling above the recommended price of N133 per litre; it is averaging between N140 and N142.5. 

When you know you have 10 million litres, and you know people make payment of about 20 million litres on a daily basis, automatically you will begin to ration, and in the process of rationing, there will be so many hidden charges," the official stated. The Group Managing Director, NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, while reacting to the allegation by IPMAN last Thursday at the inauguration of the NNPC mega station in Sagamu, had noted that the corporation was importing about 100 percent of the petroleum products in the country, saying there were sufficient products. He said, "We distribute at the ex-depot price of N133 per litre; so there is no reason why anybody should sell beyond N145 per litre. So if some people are playing around, I will leave it for the relevant regulatory authorities, the DPR and the PPPRA to take care of it. As for IPMAN, I want to advise that this is not the route to go. 

(Punch)