Why Fuel Scarcity Lingers — Independent Marketers

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (lPMAN) has disclosed the reason for the ongoing fuel scarcity, attributing it to the unavailability of petroleum products and difficulty in accessing foreign exchange by marketers.

The revelation was made by Mike Osatuyi, the Operations Controller of lPMAN,  in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Sunday.

He stated that it became a necessity to inform the general public that the lingering scarcity of petrol was due to the unavailability of the product.

According to Osatuyi, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Ltd., has stopped importing enough petrol to meet demand in the country.

“We are experiencing scarcity because the product is not available.

“The price of a litre of petrol at private depots is currently between N205 and N210 as against N162.50.

“The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Ltd., is the sole importer of refined petroleum products, which are not readily available to marketers", he stated.

Speaking further, he said that his members purchased petrol at over N200 per litre from private depots, making it impossible for them to sell at a regulated pump price.

“Besides, such a trend is unsustainable given the fact that private depots also sell the product at an unofficial rate different from that of NNPCL.

“When we add the cost of transportation and levies, it will run into N217 per litre. At what prices do you want marketers to sell, knowing full well that we are in business to make profit?

“My members are groaning over the increase in the cost of petrol from the depot and they suffer a lot to get it.

“If fuel is there why would we not sell? But there is no fuel. Our members are selling petrol between N230 and N240 per litre at filling stations", Osatuyi added.

While sharing that the government was finding it difficult to continue subsidizing the price of petrol, he advised that the downstream sector be fully deregulated as a permanent solution to the problem.