…As scarcity persists, grounds economy
• SMEs, end users, others count losses
• Injection of 300m litres of PMS claim fails to save situation
• Pump prices hit N900 to N1,500/litre
By Adewale Sanyaolu
It is no news for fuel scarcity to occur in Nigeria. Rather what is news is what triggered the scarcity. In some cases, it would be that the product was just out of stock due to certain reasons while at other times, it could be that those whose duty it is to take it to the end users are on industrial action. Whatever caused the scarcity, it is the economy that will bear the brunt. This time, the reason for the scarcity is legion.
But like others in the past, the current fuel scarcity across the country has grounded economic activities as businesses, especially Small Medium Enterprises(SMEs), have continued to record daily losses with end to the scarcity not yet in sight.
As it is, most business operators who rely on generators to power their operations have not been able to operate at optimal capacity in the last two weeks, a development that has been further worsened by epileptic power supply.
Indeed, all hopes were dashed as the claim by the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) that 300 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol, had been scheduled to arrive the shores of the country in eight vessels failed to bring the much needed relief.
Addressing the media in Lagos last week, the Chairman of MEMAN, Mr Huub Stokman, said: ‘‘While the current situation has been challenging, we want to reassure the public that there is an adequate supply of PMS available. Our members in Apapa and other locations in Lagos are taking product from eight vessels this week with over 300 million litres of PMS, well above our normal levels.
“We are actively coordinating with our member companies through swaps and other supply arrangements to ensure member stations remain stocked. Our depots will extend their loading times to ensure we load out as much as we can including May 1, 2024.
‘‘Our partners in NARTO & PTD have assured us of their support in ensuring the product gets to the retail outlets safely and quickly. We also will extend the opening times of selected retail outlets to ensure we can service our customers as long and safely as possible.
“Independent marketers (depots & stations) are being allocated additional PMS to alleviate the situation.
“We expect the situation to improve in the coming days as supply chains adjust and stabilize.
“MEMAN remains committed to keeping you informed and providing timely updates. Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us through our official channels.”
Stokman who is also the Managing Director of NNPC Limited, assured Nigerians that there was no plan to hike petrol prices as being speculated in some quarters.
Corroborating the position of Stokman, Spokesman of NNPC Limited, Mr Olufemi Soneye, disclosed that the company currently has more than 1.5 billion litres of product available, enough to last for at least 30 days.
He, however, said that some individuals might be exploiting the situation to maximise profit.
“Unfortunately, we experienced a three-day disruption in distribution due to logistical issues, which has since been resolved.
“However, as you know, overcoming such disruptions typically requires double the amount of time to return to normal operations.
“Some folks are taking advantage of this situation to maximize profits.
“Thankfully, product scarcity has been minimal lately, but these folks might be exploiting the situation for unwarranted gain.”
But five days after that assurance from MEMAM, the fuel scarcity across the country appears to have defied all solutions with motorists keeping vigil at fuel stations.
Indeed, it has been tale of woes for motorists across the country as the majority of them are recording man-hour losses that ought to have been put in productive venture, but spent at the filling stations with the majority of them ending up not getting the commodity.
Consequently, the commuters are now being forced to trek long distances as transport fares have hit the roof top while the situation has forced some SMEs to ration their operating hours just as many cannot make it down to their respective business locations.
In Lagos, the situation was chaotic throughout last week as the lingering fuel scarcity compounded the already bad Lagos traffic situation.
Also, the situation has created brisk business for black market operators as a litre of petrol now goes for N1,000 per litre. At the filling stations operated by independent marketers in some parts of the country, a litre of petrol hit as high as N1,500 as at last week more than double of what was obtained before at NNPC filling stations.
Some of the commuters, who spoke to Sunday Sun said that the man-hour loss in traffic was hurting their business and the economy at large.
According to Mrs Adebisi Adeojo, after she spent over 3 hours at Ogba bus stop, she lost some of her orders as her customers had to leave in a hurry for other engagements.
For Mr Adekunle Adeoye, the traffic jam forced him to cancel two business meetings at Eko Hotel and Oriental Hotel last Monday, saying that he had fixed both breakfast meetings since last week, but could not meet up for the 8:00a.m appointment as a result of chaos on Lagos roads caused by fuel scarcity.
It would be recalled that the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), had warned that the fuel shortage would last for two weeks.
IPMAN Public Relations Officer, Chinedu Ukadike, disclosed that the product was not available in-country, adding that it has become a bit challenging to source the product because most refineries in Europe are undergoing turnaround maintenance.
Also, IPMAN warned last Tuesday that it would stop the supply of petrol, if the Federal Government fails to pay the N200 billion outstanding bridging claims owed its members.
In a communique issued by the IPMAN Depot Chairmen Forum in Abuja and read by the chairman, Aba Depot, Mazi Oliver Okolo, the association said that the withdrawal of service would start anytime from now, following the expiration of the 40-day grace period given after a meeting with the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri in February, where the minister directed the the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NMDPRA) to pay off the outstanding bridging claims.
Okolo said that NMDPRA failed to pay the N200 billion debt despite the directive from the minister.
He said that only N13 billion had been paid to their members, and that the unpaid claim had crippled their businesses.
Investigations by Sunday Sun across filling stations located in Abule Egba, Ogba, Ikeja, Alausa, Alapere, Gbagada, Lekki and Victoria of Lagos State, showed that there has been a drop in supply level as more than 60 per cent of the filling stations surveyed were out of supply while those dispensing had long queues of vehicles.
At the NNPC retail outlet at Alapere inward old toll gate, the filling station had long queues of vehicles stretching several meters.
The queues which were almost stretching back to Ogudu compounded the traffic situation as those returning from worship centres got trapped in traffic.
The same scenario played out at the TotalEnergies filling stations at Alapere and Mobolaji Bank Anthony way in Ikeja.
At Ogba, the Conoil and NNPC filling stations on College Road were out of service, leaving the Mobil retail outlet to serve the long queues of motorists.
At Alausa, the situation was not different as the NNPC retail outlet on Mobolaji Johnson Avenue had long queues of vehicles in line almost stretching back to the Ndubusi Kanu park.The Total Energies station was, however, out of stock.
On the Lagos Island, the situation appears worse as filling stations in Ikoyi and Lekki were all shut to the motoring public save for the AP filling station on Admiralty Way in Lekki that was dispensing with very long stretch of vehicles queuing up.
At the Apapa depot, some marketers who spoke to Sunday Sun disclosed that there has been a drastic drop in the level of imports.
They lamented that priority attention was only for trucks loading products to Abuja at the detriment of other locations, especially Lagos and neighbouring states
They said that there was a strict instruction from higher authorities that only trucks heading for Abuja should be loaded.
Another marketer at the Apapa depot who simply identified himself as Alhaji Kabiru said that the shortage in supply may worsen this week because of the priority attention given to trucks loading to go to Abuja.
“A particular depot in Apapa here that received 5,000 metric tons(200 trucks) of petrol on Thursday has loaded over 100 trucks for Abuja, but our trucks that are meant to service Lagos outlets have been on the queue since Friday without consideration for us,’’ he lamented.
Proffering solutions to the challenge of reoccurring fuel scarcity, CEO of MEMAN, Mr Clement Isong, said that a situation whereby the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited remained the sole importer of petrol was not good for the sector.
He reiterated his earlier position that the sector be opened up to allow other private sector players to compete, saying that such would open up the downstream and allow healthy competition.