•Panic grips motorists over fresh price hike
From Uche Usim, Abuja and Adewale Sanyaolu
Petroleum products marketers on the platform of Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA) have advised consumers, especially those up north, to prepare for a fresh round of fuel scarcity as they battling several challenges threatening their business and create energy scarcity.
The National President of NOGASA, Mr. Benneth Korie, at a media briefing in Abuja on Monday, listed failed roads, kidnapping and killing of tanker drivers, in addition to worsening foreign exchange scarcity, among key issues suffocating them. According to him, the naira has tumbled to an all-time low of about N950/$1 in the parallel market, amid scarcity in the I&E window, thus making it difficult to sustain importation and sales with the current template.
He added that the roads had remained in terrible state of disrepare , especially the Warri-Abuja stretch,seeking urgent interventions to improve the situation.
“There’s a need to address that road issue. If not, we may have problems bringing in products. If you observe, you see some filling stations are empty. It’s as a result of that road, they can’t move”, he said.
Korie explained that failed roads have detained drivers and trucks for upward of two weeks.
He added: “The Warri-Abuja road is a no-go area. Our trucks have been there for the past two weeks, they can’t move. “They kidnapped our drivers, killed some of our drivers, vandalised our trucks, took the products out.
“Who is paying? Nobody, we’re losing money and here we are talking. Last year, we had this same problem at this same place. I thought that they would do something about it by now.
Every time I speak to you, it’s about roads. You import trucks, you import cars, you use dollars to import them. Then the road is bad, what do you expect? It will not last. And that’s why you’re seeing all of us every day we’re importing cars, trucks every day. For the mechanics, there is a limit they can repair. But if you fix the road, you will see that the rate that we import spare parts and import vehicles into this country will reduce”, he explained.
On foreign exchange scarcity, the NOGASA President described it as a serious challenge that needs urgent actions.
“It’s a serious development and we must take action. Call the BDCs, call the bank’s MDs to sit with the CBN and come out with one price, one uniform price that will be okay for them. So that at the end of the day they will come out and say, this is how much the dollar will be. I know they will tell you, the demands and supply aspects and all that. This is not our money. You can sit down and say, look, this is how much we will collect. If you want to sell to us, this is how much we’ll buy from you. And if you want to sell, don’t sell more than this price. And that way, they can control the dollar. Yes, Mr. President, say free the naira. But the way it’s going, it will destroy a lot of things for us”.
On moribund refineries, Korie advised the federal government to look inwards as Nigeria boasts of capable engineers that could fix them.
“We have good engineers, good engineers. Get them together. Let them go to these refineries. For how many years now we’ve been talking about refineries. Let them go there and check. It’s human beings that built these refineries? And we have these people in Nigerians. They’re all Nigerians. We have them. They can go there and fix it. There’s nothing wrong. Show them the problem. Even though we know it’s old, we can fix it.
Meanwhile, fears of a possible Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly called petrol fresh price hike appears to have gripped motorists, forcing many to engage in panic buying.
Daily Sun had last week, exclusively reported a possible hike in the price of petrol over the rise in crude oil price which had hit $86.12 per barrel.
As at yesterday, fuel queues had returned to most filling stations as motorists engaged in panic buying over a possible hike in the price of petrol.
A national newspaper (not Daily Sun) had yesterday reported that oil marketers hinted that the cost of petrol would rise to N680/litre and N720/litre in the coming weeks should the dollar continue to trade from N910 to N950 at the parallel market.
Some of the filling stations visited by Daily Sun in Ogba, Maryland, Abule Egba, Ipaja had long queues of motorists. Industry observers who spoke to Daily Sun said the challenge around forex still persists with no sign of abating anytime soon
They argued that despite the removal of subsidy which has paved the way for a free market, breaking the monopoly of NNPC, marketers are finding it difficult to import due the fluctuation in exchange rates.
Besides, they said the continuous rise in the price of crude oil in the international market was also a contributory factor.
Analysts have predicted that the oil market is in a bullish move and heading well into the $90 per barrel range, Bob McNally, President at Rapidan Energy, told CNBC’s Squawk Box program on Monday.
Oil hitting $100 per barrel is “entirely possible,”.Oil prices are climbing a wall of doubt and skepticism,” McNally added said.
Findings by Daily Sun at the Apapa depot revealed that the ex-depot price of petrol had hit about N600 per litre, leaving operators with no option than hiking the price petrol at the depot level which will eventually led to increased price at the pumps.
Meanwhile, Organised Labour has vowed to proceed with a total, comprehensive and indefinite nationwide shutdown of the country, should there be another increase in petrol pump price from the existing 617 naira, which it describes as “illegal”.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, gave the notification on Monday, at the African Trade Union alliance meeting in Abuja, where organised labour also warned against undermining the demands of the union.