Election fears worsen fuel scarcity

• Published date: 19 January 2023
• Publication title: Nigeria - The Nation

Fresh facts emerged yesterday over the worsening petrol scarcity which has entered its fifth month.

The Nation's investigations yesterday revealed that most depot owners are shunning stocking up petrol over fears of the unknown considering that the general elections are just around the corner.

According to our source, who is a major marketer, a lot of depots are worried about tying their money down to stock up petrol because of the fear of the unknown. The source informed that the concerns centers around not wanting to incur losses in the event that they would have incurred higher cost on the product while stocking up and then government comes out to enforce price regulation towards the elections or even after.

'I can tell you that as at today, most depots are refusing to buy or stock up petrol because of fear of uncertainties over cost especially with elections around the corner. Nobody wants to incur any loss in business,' our source said.

Still, if the revelation by the a manager of an NNPCL Retail filling station is anything to go by, then tougher days may still be ahead in relation to the scarcity. At an NNPC filling station in Lagos, The Nation reporter, who witnessed the arrival and discharge of a petrol tanker at the station, gathered from the manager that the situation is becoming frustrating.

'Imagine that since three days now at the depot, all we could get is just 15, 000 litres of petrol? We bought this supply at N241 per litre, but we are not allowed to sell above N169 per litre because we are NNPC,' the manager said craving for anonymity.

Given the quantity supplied and the length of vehicular queue, the manager pegged sale of the commodity to N5, 000 per vehicle so that 'we can dispense to more vehicles from the little quantity we have.

On Monday, the National Operations Controller of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mike Osatuyi, raise the alarm that the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is yet to begin direct supply of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol, to its members, even after an agreement to that effect was reached at a meeting involving the NNPCL, IPMAN, Major Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), Department...