Fuel Queues Surface as NNPC’s Allocates to 7 Marketers

Queue in filling station 

The fuel crisis that hit some parts of the country may assume a dangerous dimension as fuel marketers shun importation of fuel and rely on products imported by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), THISDAY has learnt.

THISDAY gathered that the last four cargoes of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) brought into the country recently by the NNPC were shared by the six major marketers and NIPCO Plc.

THISDAY Investigation revealed that many marketers and depot owners were operating dry depots at the weekend, while NIPCO Plc, which used to load 150 trucks daily to both the general customers and the NNPC, was rationing 45 trucks daily only to the NNPC, while other customers were not receiving products.

Due to this development, fuel queues that were being experienced in Abuja since the past one week, were noticed in some filling stations in Lagos at the weekend.
The refusal of the marketers to import products, it was learnt, was due to uncertainty on the possible outcome of the subsidy probe by the National Assembly.

The marketers are said to be apprehensive of the report of the National Assembly on the disbursement of close to N2trillion spent on subsidy in 2011.

One of the marketers, who spoke to THISDAY on condition of anonymity, stated that they were also being cautious on the issue of fuel importation because of the “bad press we received for doing legitimate and patriotic business.”

He admitted the possibility of fraud in the administration of subsidy regime but noted that “genuine” marketers were not happy that they were all referred to as “cabals that shared government money”.

According to him, the allegation by the members of the National Assembly and other top government functionaries that marketers are cabals, which was all over the international press, was capable of damaging the integrity of their businesses and affecting their relationships with foreign players.

“Nobody is in a hurry to bring in cargoes. They can withdraw their import permits. The politicians mixed politics with business and almost dragged our reputation in the mud. The marketers were ridiculed like common criminals simply because they collected subsidy, which was their legitimate money. They nearly damaged our international reputation and businesses. Instead of carrying out a probe to identify genuine importers, they called everybody cabals, without any investigation. It was an unfortunate development. So, people are waiting to see the outcome of their investigation,” he said.

When the scarcity initially hit Abuja and some other states, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) assured that there was enough fuel in strategic reserve to last for more than a month.

The Managing Director of PPMC, Mr. Haruna Momoh, had stated that all the issues that led to the initial hitch in supply had been resolved.

“There were a number of issues like the Petrol Tanker Drivers (PTD) strike in Kwara, Rivers and Edo States which have been resolved. There was also the issue of marketers’ reluctance to import products as a result of the uncertainty about subsidy payment, which has also been resolved with the recent appropriation for subsidy included in the 2012 budget by the President. So marketers have resumed importation, and we have enough fuel in our strategic reserve to last until their cargoes start arriving,” he said.

The Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) had also debunked reports that it had stopped processing subsidy claims from genuine importers.
But despite these assurances, the scarcity has persisted, spreading from Abuja to Lagos.