The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Fuel scarcity

  • Why fuel scarcity will persist, by unions

    Why fuel scarcity will persist, by unions

    •Security checks, bad roads, forex, others blamed

    For more than two months, the fuel situation has been unpredictable. Today there is product and the next day – the pumps at the filling stations are dry. Major players in the oil industry say the government should go beyond products’ importation. They are pushing for a friendly Foreign Exchange (forex) rate, a good road network and reduced security checks, among others, writes Emeka Ugwuanyi.

    THERE seems to be no letup in the blame trading game over who should be held responsible for the perennial fuel scarcity.

    Since the queues returned to filling stations across the country at the turn of last year, the Federal Government and those in the distribution chain of petroleum products have been passing the bucks.

    The supply flow has been unsteady following the withdrawal of oil marketers from importation, leaving the business to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    The fuel queues, which began on December 7 in Abuja, eased on January 2 but re-surfaced on January 5. They have been off and on in the FCT and many parts of the country.

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said the petrol supply and price situation deserved an urgent and lasting solution.

    Its local chapter chairman in Anambra State Jerry Nnubia said it was expected that the price of petrol would return to normal soon after the Yuletide period but the crisis had lingered.

    According to him, the unofficial hike in the price of petrol was having a severe effect on Nigerians, especially workers.

    Nnubia said: “The Federal Government should ensure that the sector returned to normal through massive supply products.

    “You are aware that petrol is the driver of every other sectors of the economy and you can see the suffering this hike has brought to the people.

    “The labour is holding government responsible for what is happening because they are the only people that can save the situation.”

    Some unions have warned that Nigerians may have to contend with irregular supply for now. They blamed persistent queues on Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), Foreign Exchange (forex) rates, decaying infrastructure and security checks, among other factors.

    According to them, the insatiable quest of DAPPMAN members for maximum profit as major players in the distribution chain has not been helping matters.

    They alleged that the depot owners sell product to others for distribution above the rates fixed by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA).

    The development, they explained, leave with two options. They either stop restocking their filling stations or retail at above the litter price.

    To them, the second option is the devil’s alternative as officials of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) deployed to enforce compliance with the PPPRA ceiling constantly sanction erring stations.

    More than 78,000 litres of petrol were dispensed free of charge to motorists in Abuja from the various stations that were caught selling above the approved pump price of N145 per litre during a six-day monitoring by the Joint Task Force at the turn of last year.

    Seventeen fuel stations were at the weekend sealed in Niger and Anambra states by DPR monitors.

    Isah Jankara, Operations Controller of DPR in Niger State, where 13 stations fell under the hammer, told reporters: “If you want to sell petrol in Niger make sure you sell at government’s approved rate of N145 per litre. Also, make sure that you don’t divert the product because if you are caught you must face the penalty.”

    Jankara said that all the affected stations must pay necessary fines before they would be allowed to re-open for business.

    He said: “All marketers whose stations have been closed down for violation of the N145 pump price per litre are to pay the sum of N100, 000 per pump as penalty through the TSA (Treasury Single Account) and submit receipts of payment and bank teller to the Head of Operations before their stations will be re-opened for sales to the public at N145 per litre.”

    Jankara said that before now earring filling stations were only compelled to revert to government’ approved rate without sanction.

    Two of the four filling stations sealed in Anambra State were for alleged fuel diversion and the operators of the two other outlets were reprimanded for selling the product above N145

    The DPR officials forced five other stations to sell at the approved pump price.

    In Awka, Nnewi and Onitsha, fuel sells for between N185 and N200 per litre.

    DPR Head of Safety, Environment and Health Department, Linus Ikegbunam, who led a five-man enforcement team, said the marketers were suspected not to have discharged products meant for their stations accordingly.

    Ikegbunam said the filling stations sealed for suspected diversion had the product designated for them as contained in their manifests.

    He said DPR was worried over the rising cases of product diversion, especially at this time of supply challenges but assured that the agency was ready to combat the menace.

    Ikegbunam wondered why a marketer who procured as much as between 40,000 and 50,000 litres of petrol would not sell to the people rather divert them to other locations.

    He said the stations would remain closed until investigations were concluded on them and warned that those found culpable would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

    “Selling above government approved price of N145 is an offence and that is why we enforced compliance at some stations. Those who are habitual offenders were also sealed and penalised,” Ikegbunam warned.

    The Chairman of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Salihu Butu, confirmed to reporters at the weekend that the retail business has become unprofitable for his members.

    Besides paying higher for products at the depots, IPMAN, which accounts for 80 per cent of the retail outlets in the country, get 10 per cent products to sell, Buto told reporters on the tarmac of the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC), at Suleja depot, Niger State.

    According to him, they buy above the ex-depot price to keep their stations open and remain in business.

    DAPPMAN, it was learnt, gets the product at N117 from the NNPC, the sole importer, and sells to marketers at N152 as against the approved ex-depot price of N133.80.

    Butu said: “The private depot owners do not sell to us at the official price. We buy at the unofficial price. How do we break even?

    “Our stations sell at N180 – N190 because when you get to the depots, you are presented with two accounts for payment: one for the actual price and the other for the extra, otherwise you cannot lift.”

    On the way forward, Butu said only President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly could intervene in the fuel situation.

    He said: “Only President Muhammadu Buhari can solve this. He should come in, people trust him. When he increased price, people accepted, no questions asked. We knew it was for the better.

    “The National Assembly also should invite all aggrieved members to get to the bottom of this. There should be equity in distribution. NNPC depots should be stocked back to back. Only Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) is loading.

    “Mr Umar Ajiya of PPMC held meetings with us. We decided to cooperate and so, I went to Aba, Warri, Mosimi and found that our members are given two-three trucks to share.

    “To keep their stations open and stay in business, our members have to buy. All these should be looked into.”

    A marketer at Seaman’s Petroleum in Anambra State, Geoffrey Anioke, said it has been difficult procuring products in the last two months, making it impossible to sell at the government approved price.

    Anioke said selling petrol at N145, when the landing was between N165 and N170 was a huge loss for them.

    He urged the Federal Government and the NNPC to supply enough petrol to eliminate the black market and artificial price increase.

    He said: “We get fuel from N165 to N170 at the moment and it is not possible to sell at N145 and forcing us to sell at that price is punishing us and driving us out of business.

    “We are ready to serve the people and keep the economy going and that is why we are making extra efforts to have product, we expect government to address the shortage rather than making us suffer.”

     

    Dilapidated infrastructure

     

    In times past, the Petrol Tanker Drivers’ (PTD) branch of the National Union of Petrol and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) threatened to call its members out of work because of the state of the highways.

    The condition of the roads is not only adding to their travel time, it is making them to visit the mechanics frequently.

    According to the Secretary of the Suleja branch of the PTD, Yakubu Ibrahim, the queues would have disappeared if the government had provide infrastructure, reduce the security checks that caused gridlock on the expressway.

    He described as harrowing that drivers spend several hours on s stretch that should take minutes.

    Ibrahim said: “Jebba to Mokwa is less than 100km (about 45 minutes’ drive), yet our members spend five hours there. Another gridlock is on the Agaie-Lapai-Lambata route.

    “Another issue they can look into is the security checks. They cause gridlock of 10-15 and sometimes 20km. Our members spend two days on those spots.

    “Like now, we are waiting for them here and they are there. The check points are too many.

    “The security agents keep stopping the drivers to dip, check specimen, or collect bribes even without having the right apparatus to check. All these cause unnecessary gridlocks.’’

     

    Interventions

     

    On the efforts being made by the various security outfits to halt hoarding and diversion of products by marketers, the Assistant Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in charge of Operations, Abdullahi Aminu, said his men and the NNPC have been collaborating.

    Aminu said: “Dr. Baru (NNPC Group Managing Director) and the Commandant-General of the NSCDC, Mr Abdullahi Muhammadu, collaborated to bring down the menace of diversion.

    “Part of our mandate is to monitor national assets and distribution of petroleum products and so every truck distributing petrol has a personnel attached to it to ensure the tankers get to the intended destination.’’

    He urged all station managers to check boots for jerry-cans, extra-fitted tanks for profiteers, who queued repeatedly, thereby hindering other motorists, saying they should be handed over to security agents.

    The NSCDC chief said: “There has been no complaint of collusion to divert products from our personnel because they know it will lead to instant dismissal.

    “We have arrested many miscreants who deal illegally and their cases are undergoing prosecution. They construct man-made tanks of 1,500 litres instead of the 50-60 litres.

    “If 10 of these cars queue up, they can finish half a tanker that should have served more motorists, hence we carry out a stop-and-search car boots.”

    DAPPMAN, MOMAN: we’re not saboteurs

    TWO major stakeholders in the fuel distribution chain – Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA) and Major Oil Markers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) – have distanced themselves from the perennial queues in some parts of the country.

    They described as untrue the allegation of their involvement in acts of sabotage.

    DAPPMAN Chairman Prince Dapo Abiodun, told The Nation that it will amount to standing logic on its head to accuse his members of selling above approved ex-depot price when “they don’t even have products.”

    To him, to solve the recurrent fuel scarcity, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has to use all distribution channels (depots) including MOMAN, DAPPMAN and Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria (IPMAN).

    Abiodun: “These are false and baseless allegations sponsored by IMPAN. The truth is that DAPPMA has hardly gotten product allocations. Almost 90 per cent of the total product from NNPC is being given to MOMAN including Total, Forte, MRS, Mobil, Oando and Conoil.

    “The fuel scarcity is because of supply gaps. If petrol supply is enough and consistent all these stories will fizzle away. The question to ask is, why didn’t this situation happen before December last year?”

    The Secretary of MOMAN in Suleja, Niger State, Femi Akano, said the association was not involved in any act of sabotage.

    “Our members have complained of gridlocks, infrastructure and security checks as reasons for delays and we have cooperated with the government. So, acts of sabotage on our part are untrue’’, he said.

     

  • Fuel crisis: Local refining is the only solution, says Dogara

    Fuel crisis: Local refining is the only solution, says Dogara

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara has said the country will continue to experience fuel crisis as long as it cannot refine the products locally.

    Dogara said though the leadership of the country is engaging stakeholders on how to surmount the challenge, he nonetheless opined that the country is not likely to overcome the recurring crisis if it continues with stop-gap measures.

    Dogara spoke Tuesday in his office while receiving the leadership of the Petroleum and Natural gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), where he said it would be foolhardy for anyone to think that there will be a permanent solution without capacity to refine petroleum products locally.

    He however disclosed that three Petroleum Industry bills would be given expedited action by the two houses of the National Assembly to avoid delay.

    He revealed that works on the bills are expected to be have been concluded and sent for Presidential assent before active politicking for 2019 general elections sets in.

    He said: “You mention this very embarrassing fuel situation which we have found ourselves and the state of our refineries.

    “My take on this is very simple and I’ve said it on a number of occasion that unless we are able to refine our own crude oil locally, we will never be in a position as a nation to say bye bye to fuel scarcity.

    “That is the truth; anyone who thinks we can depend on importation and still solve this problem in a permanent basis is deceiving himself.

    “When you import you depend on so many variables that are not within your control and anything can happen along the line that may result in this.

    “As far as am concerned, I see no reason why, with the quantum of crude we are churning out from Nigeria we cannot refine this product locally and end this shame once and for all.

    “It’s something we are looking at levels of  different strata of leadership in the country but whatever solutions we are going to proffer, will only be temporal.

    “The permanent solution will come when are able to refine the product locally, put it in the filling stations where it can be dispensed and then we can say bye bye to the scarcity.

    “But as far as that is not done, any measure adopted will just be a stop-gap measure  because we will depending on refineries outside and others variables that are not

    “This is where we are but to be candid this is a challenge we have to resolve as soon as we can.

    “At the level of leadership, engagements are on-going and hopefully we will be able find a solution but the permanent solution is when we are in a position, either through the existing refineries or building new ones but we must possess the capacity to refine the crude locally.”

    As part of the permanent solution, Dogara said the process of passing the three remain bills of petroleum industry would be abridged whereby the petroleum resources Committees of the two House would work together rather than separately.

    He said a joint public hearing would be conducted by the Committees where all stakeholders, civil society organizations (CSOs) and members of the public would be invited.

    He said the aggregate of the outcome of the public hearing is critical to the final report of the bills.

    Dogara also stated that to maximise time, there would be no need for Conference Committe once the reports of the bills are considered and adopted by the two chambers since the reports would be basically similar.

    Saying that the 8th National Assembly is desirous of creating further history having broken the jinx of passing the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), Dogara said the lawmakers are currently working on the physical aspect of the bills.

    “The process of passing the bills will be done in no time, by this time; we are taking a very short route to the passage of these bills in the sense that instead of working separately, the two Houses will work on them jointly.

    “At the end of the day what comes back to the plenary of the two houses will be a reflection of the work of the joint Committee and once it is passed, there won’t be any need for conference on the bill to harmonise the position of the two houses, it will be the same position for the two and it will be sent to the President for assent.

    “If we succeed in this, this section of the National Assembly would be making history though we have been doing that.”

    Earlier in his speech, PENGASAN  National President, Olabode Johnson, who led other members of the delegation asked for the intervention of the House in the lingering fuel crisis while asking for the revamping and rehabilitation of the nation’s refineries with timeline.

    The union also implored the government to effect strategies of adequate and sustainable crude supply to the refineries to enhance local refining.

    The group also asked government to remove all encumbrances associated with importation of refined products, enhance infrastructural facilities such as construction of additional Single Point Mooring and extension of such into deep waters to enable berthing of large vessels to ease the challenges of importation.

  • Some small good in all the seeming gloom

    It is so soon that we are at the end of January – just recently it was the start of a new year.  For those of us living in Nigeria the year-end / New Year brought much more than its usual cheerless news – the ill wind this time blew in great gales of horror.

    Aside the now regular / mysterious year-end fuel scarcity, transport and fuel price hikes; Nigeria became a veritable killing field with deaths recorded across all geopolitical zones.

    In Ebonyi, schools had to be shut after a Lassa fever outbreak claimed the life of a medical doctor who was himself treating patients with the fever.  That last quarter also saw states like Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa battle Monkeypox disease.  But these led to deaths caused by communicable diseases aside from suicide.  The rest of our woes were occasioned by:

    (1)  Man’s inhumanity to man

    (2) Negligence to clear warning signals on the part of our security operatives.

    (3)  Endless defensiveness and zero sum preventative measures.

    One newspaper described 2017 as the year of deadly domestic violence cases.

    It’s been a sad period; even as I write this, a 3 week old baby is in hospital in Lagos battling for her life.  Baby Gift Asuquo’s father Edet, a Cross Riverian living in Idi Araba had become infuriated by the hungry baby’s crying.  Edet gave the baby such a hard slap that she convulsed immediately and was rushed to hospital, as the father fled home to evade law enforcement agents.

    The problems are still ongoing, from Fuel crisis to Fulani Herdsmen killers and waves of carnage.

    The death cloud of killings came rolling in from Kaduna, on Christmas Day of all days when innocent worshippers were slaughtered in cold blood; in church.  Many more Christians were to lose their lives in the New Year.

    Though the brain behind the Rivers killing spree (Don Wayney) has been killed; his other gang members are still at large – are they still being hunted down?

    The Akwa Ibom killer cultist Akpafid, who made a whole local government his personal killing field, was himself also killed by security forces – this time, along with his accomplices.

    But the mass killers of Adamawa, Taraba and Benue ARE STILL AT LARGE – the death toll in their wake of proportions very worthy of national mourning.

    But if there be some consolation, these success stories should rekindle some hope on us all.

    Early this week, the mother of all thanksgivings took place in Edo State after 6 nuns who had been in the kidnapper’s den for months; were released.

    If you had read ‘Edo Security Worsening’ in the Princess’ Files, then you will appreciate the release of Dr. Andy Ehanire, Director of Ogba Zoo and Nature Park; and the musician Joseph Osayomone, a man in his seventies, whose wife was even shot by this kidnappers for daring to appeal to them not to abduct him.

    Also, the FRSC Corps Marshall, Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi has announced a 2.58% REDUCTION in road crashes in 2017!

    It Shall Be Well.

    YOUR RESPONSES

    Re:  Nigerians Live

    in Huts:

    – I believe PMB would do something if he knows the fact.  They have succeeded in deceiving him to believe their suggestion of turnaround project as the answer.

    – 080377….97

    – OBJ didn’t get the 3rd term.  No new refinery, Ibadan & Abeokuta Express Roads neglected.  He is the President KNOW ALL.

    – Felix Ojo

    – Is garri production and supply not being adversely affected by poor infrastructure, costly farm inputs and hike in transport fares?  Are we not in a government that promised change? What is the difference between PDP & APC?  The two parties are two sides of the same coin

    – Baazi, Jimeta.

    – Commerce is the Economic policy of OBJ.  Stop your misinformation woman.

    – 090846…..24

    – On OBJ, one of many vices known to him by many is self-adulation purposely to draw undeserved public attention, a posture that has earned him sobriquets like ‘Mr Know All’ etc.  He was reported to have said soon after the annulment of MKO’s victory in the ’93 presidential elections that ‘Abiola was not the Messiah’ Nigeria had waited for. For me, we feel short changed by such leaders, in or out of office.

    – Busari Alade.

    – OBJ sees himself as the best but he is one of the leaders that put us to where we are.  That was why late Gaini Fawehinmi wrote to the UN against Obasanjo being considered for any position in the UN.

     

    – Aduulateef Fasasi, Ilorin.

    – Its public knowledge that OBJ’s junkets around the world are more to his benefit than to the country’s.  It’s the same complex of posturing to be better than others that made him avoid mentioning his home country Nigeria or Nigeria’s President in his choice of countries and Presidents for commendation.  Like you said, he was only covering up his shortcomings, and failed self-perpetration attempt (3rd Term Bid).

    – 08066….568

    – As Donald Trump openly declared his hatred for Africans, the black people and Arabs of the world, I hate Trump for all that he is and worth.  Thanks for your patriotic stance against our incorrigibly shameless leaders who divert our inadequate developmental resources to foreign banks to the disadvantage of the masses.  To change them to our desire is a task from which we can’t shy away.

    – 08078….409.

    – Keep writing; we keep reading.

    – 08033….886

    – With such a passion to present facts to the public you give hope to millions of Nigerians.

    – 08038….501.

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  • More pains as fuel scarcity returns

    More pains as fuel scarcity returns

    The ‘dramatic’ return of long queues at the filling stations in Lagos and some other cities centres is worrisome. But the authorities assure that there is no cause for alarm. DAMISI OJO, MIKE ODIEGWU, JOHN OFIKHENUA, QUEEN BAMIDELE and BOLAJI OGUNDELE, report the lingering fuel scarcity.

    DESPITE repeated assurances from state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that is has more than enough petrol to meet consumers’ demand; the long queues are back at the filling stations.

    Many of the stations ran out of stock over the weekend, leaving the few that have the product to dispense at prices above the approved N145 per litre.

    The scarcity worsened in Lagos on Sunday, a day the NNPC claimed it rolled in 250 trucks of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to Lagos in a move to ensure product’s availability.

    The fuel scarcity, which returned at the turn of last year, has been blamed on number of reasons including, panic buying; hoarding; sabotage and diversion of products to neighbouring countries by unpatriotic marketers.

    Though critical holders in the fuel distribution chain resolved at the end of their series of meeting in Abuja during the Yuletide to keep the pump price at N145 per litre, only few filling stations belonging to the Major Oil Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) dispense at the regulated price.

    Other stations have not only been hoarding the product to make the scarcity bite harder, they sell at odd hours to escape the hammers of officials of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), who have been moving around to ensure that consumers are not cheated by the distributors.

    Hundreds of filling stations have been sanctioned by the DPR for offences ranging from under-dispensing of product, hoarding and to selling above the approved pump price.

    The fuel supply problem was aggravated by the withdrawal of members of MOMAN and Depot and Petroleum Product Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) from product importation.

    DAPPMAN’s chairman Prince Dapo Abiodun said the NNPC became the sole importer of product since October last year, when such venture became unprofitable for independent marketers.

    Besides, the DAPPMAN chief shed more light on the possibility of smuggling the product out to neigbouring countries where a litre sells for the equivalent of $1 as against N145 in Nigeria. The local exchange rate in is N365/$1.

    But the agencies of government are unrelenting in their efforts to ensure steady supply of the all-important product.

     

    22,000 plastic containers

    of smuggled petrol seized

    For instance, the Seme Command of the Nigeria Customs Service seized 22,000 plastic containers of smuggled petrol. The  Duty Paid Value (DPV) of the products seized in Pashi Yekeme community, Owode, Badagry, was put at N10 million.

    Command’s spokesperson Selchang Taupyen said in a statement credited to the Area Controller, Mr. Mohammed Aliyu,  that no arrests were made because the suspects fled on sighting law enforcers.

    According to him, the products were seized by officers of the anti-bunkering unit while they were being smuggled through the creeks.

    The statement reads: “Our operational norm doesn’t allow trucks and tankers of petroleum products to cross the Nigeria’s territory, either through the Seme main border or its Owode Apa outstation.

    “The Owode Apa station is synonymous to every approved border post and it’s manned by all government security agencies.

    “Trucks are strictly monitored and documents are properly cross-checked to ensure that they are discharged to the approved filling station.

    “Officers of the anti-bunkering unit are on ground to ensure that smuggled products through illegal routes are apprehended and seized.”

    He advised the public to desist from smuggling and embrace legitimate trade.

    “We are well equipped to tackle smuggling and we advise the public to desist from such illegal act or be ready to face the law” he said.

     

    Ondo governor enforces

    N145 per litre

    In Ondo State, Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu paid surprise visits to some petrol stations in Akure, the state capital to ensure strict compliance with the government directive that fuel dealers should sell product at N145 per litre.

    Accompanied by members of the Task Force on Petroleum, headed by his Senior Special Assistance (SSA) on Special Duties, Dr Doyin Odebowale, the governor expressed displeasure that many filling stations were dispensing fuel at between N190 and N200 per litre.

    He ordered the erring filling stations to immediately revert to the official price, threatening to impose sanctions against any fuel dealers who indulge in over-pricing, hoarding and diversion.

     

    IPMAN seeks understanding

    Members of the Ondo State chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) are calling for mutual understanding between the marketers and the government for the benefits of the citizenry.

    Speaking with reporters after meeting with the government in Akure, to find a truce on the nationwide scarcity, the IPMAN Chairman at Ore Depot, Shina Amoo, said the marketers were ready to ensure product availability.

    The IPMAN chairman, who is also in charge of operation in Ondo, Ekiti, Osun and parts of Edo and Kogi states, explained the efforts being made by the marketer to make products available at the regulated price.

    He, however, lamented that the inadequate allocation of fuel to the state had hindered their efforts, noting that a situation where only nine trucks were allocated from Mosinmi Depot at Sagamu, and only one from Ibadan per day, cannot be enough.

    The association urged the state government to prevail on the NNPC to increase daily allocation of trucks to the state to ease the lingering shortage.

    Some IPMAN members in the state were recently detained over alleged hoarding and sales of fuel above the official pump price.

    The development led to the suspension of sales of fuel to motorists and other users in the state since last Wednesday, thereby crippling commercial activities in the Sunshine State.

     

    Bayelsa residents carpet DPR

    Residents of Bayelsa State at the weekend lashed out the DPR officials in their domain for failing to protect them from alleged sharp practices of independent petroleum marketers.

    The aggrieved residents called on the Federal Government to review the composition of the DPR in the state and to probe its relationship with owners of private filling stations in the state.

    They wondered why Bayelsa was still buying a litre of fuel at outrageous amount per litre when the price of the product had stabilised in other states.

    Investigations revealed that all private filling stations in the state still sold fuel above the regulated price of N145 per litre.

    Most of them sold the product between N210 to N250 per litre against the N145 display on their meters.

    Desperate motorists besiege the NNPC Mega Station owned by in Yenagoa, where the product was sold at regulated price. They endured the long queue. Others, who could not cope with the agonising queue, patronise private stations with complaints and bickering.

    One of the residents, who identified himself as Moses, said the Bayelsa DPR was incompetent. He accused its officials of conniving with marketers to rip off the people.

    He said: “What is the essence off the DPR in the state. I don’t think it exists. Or if it does, it means its officials are in an unholy alliance with these marketers. We hear reports of filling stations sealed in other states for selling above the pump price, but here in Bayelsa, we hardly hear of DPR activities.

    “When you go to private stations, you will see the meter set at N145 per litre, but it is just deceit because they sell above N200 and use calculator to determine the price.”

    But the DPR said it has never abandoned its responsibility and warned that it will sanction any marketer selling above the approved pump price or under-dispense product.

    It said that that the depot price of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) remained N133 per litre.

    The Controller in the State, Mrs. Ejiro Ufondu, said enforcement officials are on the field to ensure that customers and users are not shortchanged by greedy marketers.

    Mrs. Ufondu said the DPR had been going out on a daily basis to ensure that marketers did not cut corners but sell the product at the government’s stipulated price of N145 per litre.

     

    900,000 MT of illegally refined fuel destroyed

    in seven months

    The Central Naval Command (CNC) of the Nigerian Navy said it has destroyed more than 900,000 metric tonnes of illegally refined petroleum products and crude oil in the last seven months.

    The outgoing Flag Officer Commanding the CNC, Rear Admiral Abubakar Al-Hassan, made the  disclosed yesterday at the passing-out parade organised for him by the command at the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Delta base in Warri.

    He also said that more than 712 illegal refining camps were destroyed within the period in review.

    Rear Admiral Al-Hassan, who has been replaced by Rear Admiral Saleh Usman as FOC, noted that the command, under his watch, recorded landmarks because of the commitment and devotion of officers and men towards ensuring that the charge of the Chief of Naval Staff, to keep the maritime space across the country safe, was effectively carried out.

    He said: “Over 100 wooden boats and power driven boats engaged in illegalities in the creeks were either seized or destroyed. Parts of these successes were attained through patrols at sea and within the backwaters, as well as the conduct of exercises and operations such as OCTOPUSGRIP.

    “The Command also recorded over 25,000 hours of boat patrols within the creeks and waterways between July and Jan. 18,   2018.”

    The Naval chief noted that the nation’s economic centre of gravity fell within the operational domains of the Nigerian Navy (NN), thus making the outfit a vital driver, guidance and enabler of the nation’s economic aspiration.

    “In realisation of this, Navy has maintained constant presence and have deployed enough ships to ensure criminal activities in the maritime domain are stopped,” he said.

    NNPC set to build more depots

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday vowed to build more depots across the country.

    Speaking at the inauguration of the board of one of its downstream Companies – NNPC Retail limited- the Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, said the addition to the corporation’s existing 23 depots nationwide would ease products supply and distribution.

    Baru, who charged members of the board to expand the company’s market share from 13 to 30 per cent, said building more depots by the corporation was more feasible than acquiring dormant ones.

    In a statement,  the corporation’s spokesman, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, lauded the NNPC Retail for its strong intervention to wet the market at a time when other downstream players were playing underhand games to create artificial scarcity.

    The GMD tasked the board to aggressively see to the expansion of the NNPC Retail beyond the shores of the land.

    “By mid-2019, you should be having plans to go into the sub-region, this board should propel NNPC Retail into a new height,’’ Baru said.

    On diversification and backward integration, the GMD directed the company to venture into lubricants production, marine and industrial services to boost its revenue profile as it was in line with our quest as an integrated oil company.

    Responding, Chairman of the board and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Gas & Power, Saidu Mohammed, said as an NNPC-owned company, the watchword for NNPC Retail should be “efficiency and profitability, especially in a downstream system like ours that is highly competitive.”

    He pledged the commitment of the board and management to the attainment of the goals of the corporation.

    Managing Director of the Company, Mr. Yemi Adetunji, expressed delight that the GMD had reinforced the vision of the company to expand beyond the shores of Nigeria, adding that the targets were achievable especially with the support of the board and management of the company.

    Other members of the board include: Engineer Henry Ikem Obih, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Downstream, as alternate Chairman; COO, Refineries, Engr. Anibo Kragha; GGM, Shipping, Hajia Aisha Ahmadu Katagun;  Mr. Yemi Adetunji and some other senior officials.

    Mrs. Obioma Agbambo, Company Secretary and Legal Adviser, NNPC Retail, will serve as Secretary to the board.

     

  • Fuel scarcity: Akeredolu enforces N145 per litre

    Fuel scarcity: Akeredolu enforces N145 per litre

    •IPMAN seeks understanding

    Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu yesterday embarked on an unexpected inspection of some filling stations in Akure, the state capital.

    His action was meant to ensure compliance with the state government’s directive that fuel dealers should abide by the official pump price of N145 per litre.

    Akeredolu, who was accompanied by members of the Task Force on Petroleum, headed by his Senior Special Assistance (SSA) on Special Duties, Dr Doyin Odebowale, expressed displeasure that many filling stations were dispensing fuel at between N190 and N200 per litre.

    The governor ordered erring filling stations to immediately revert to the official N145 per litre, threatening to sanction any fuel dealers who indulged in over-pricing, hoarding and fuel diversion.

    Also, members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) in the state have called for mutual understanding between the marketers and the government in the interest of the residents.

    Addressing reporters after meeting with the state government officials in Akure, the state capital, to reduce the fuel shortage, IPMAN Chairman at the Ore depot, Shina Amoo, said fuel marketers were ready to make petrol available across the state.

    The IPMAN chairman, who is also in charge of operations in Ondo, Ekiti, Osun and parts of Edo and Kogi states, said the marketers were facing hurdles at making the product available at filling stations across the state and selling at the approved pump price.

    He regretted that the inadequate fuel supply to the state had hindered their efforts.

    According to him, only nine trucks were allocated from Mosinmi Depot at Sagamu in Ogun State and only one from Ibadan, Oyo State, per day.

    Amoo said these were not enough for Akure alone, much less with other towns and villages in the state.

    The union leader solicited the support of the state government to make the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) increase the daily official allocation of fuel trucks to the state to reduce fuel shortage across the state.

    He sought the cooperation of the state government to cushion the effect of the hardship the residents are facing.

    Amoo promised to work with other IPMAN members to sell fuel at the approved pump price.

    Some state members of IPMAN were detained recently in for alleged hoarding and sale of fuel above the official pump price.

    The development led to the suspension of sale of fuel to motorists and other users in the state since last Wednesday, which paralysed commercial activities across the state.

  • Undying fuel scarcity monster

    One of the hallmarks of the past administrations appeared to be firmly gaining ground under the current dispensation.

    This is talking about the lingering fuel scarcity that has refused to disappear from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Abuja and its environs, the northern part of the country and many states of the nation.

    The fuel queues, which started in most parts of the country few days to the 2017 Christmas celebration, have continued to worsen since the problem started.

    They are becoming largely different from what Nigerians went through under past administrations.

    Under past administrations, when such fuel scarcity starts few days to Christmas celebrations or other festive periods, it normally disappears few days after the Christmas and other festive seasons.

    But not, it has refused to go away from Abuja and many parts of the country over three weeks after the 2018 New Year celebration.

    Now, Nigerians are back to the old days of spending many hours and in most cases sleeping on long queues in petrol stations where the product is being sold.

    While the independent oil marketers have declared that it was no longer profitable for them to import the refined product into the country, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which took over the responsibility 100 percent has not been able to arrest the situation in many parts of the country.

    For instance, while most petrol stations on the Katampe – Kubwa – Zuba expressway are under lock and key due to lack of the product, the NNPC outlets on the expressway have contributed immensely to the long queues at the petrol stations.

    At the NNPC Katampe, which has the facility to sell through 96 fuel pumps, it hardly uses up to 20 pumps to sell the product.

    While Nigerians continue to suffer and waste production hours on the queues, the reason such outlets’ managements always give is that they do not want to exhaust their stocks till they get the next supply.

    Rather than the sufferings Nigerians are made to go through on such long queues, it may even be more beneficial for many fuel pumps to be used at any particular fuel station irrespective of when the next supply is coming.

    It the long run, it will save or reduce  the man-hours lost by Nigerians on the queues and the man-hours put into the sales by the attendants.

    With the assurances from the government, Nigerians really never bargained for the hardship they have gone through, especially in the three weeks followed the 2018 New Year crossover night.

    Initially, when the scarcity began few days to the 2017 Christmas celebrations, government officials gave assurances that the fuel queues would soon disappear as supplies in the country would last till end of January 2018.

    The assurances never became reality as the scarcity bite harder during the Christmas celebration.

    Another assurance given on the 29th of December, 2017 after the Christmas celebration claiming that the monster of fuel scarcity has been killed is fast becoming an empty assurance.

    The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, had told State House correspondents on the last Friday of the year that the fuel scarcity, as a problem, was over.

    He said “I’m happy to report that we have tamed the monster that reared its head as a result of the rumoured price increase about three weeks ago.

    “Fortunately that rumour instigated a lot of marketers to be very greedy and they decided that their fellow citizens should not enjoy the Christmas holiday and New Year with ease and decided to profiteer starting by hoarding and diversion of products.

    “At the beginning I did address the press, telling the world that we have sufficient products that will last us 30 days through the New Year into January but because the marketers wanted to inflict harm and pains on fellow citizens, they decided to hoard products, divert them and in some cases even smuggle products out of the country.

    “This has been tamed by the actions we took and I personally led the war around Abuja and other teams led the war in Lagos and other parts of the country.

    “As of this morning, I have gone round the Abuja metropolis and I have seen that the queues have reduced significantly to almost normal level and few motorists that I heard speaking on morning programmed concerning what I have seen said they have not spent up to 30 minutes to fuel their car.

    “So the monster has been tamed in Lagos, the situation has been brought into normalcy as far as two days ago and we are also aching the same thing in all other cities.

    “I promise that we have sufficient products that will last us for the next 30 days and we keep bringing in 50% over and above our normal consumption into the country. And vessels have been lined up, at the moment I have eight vessels discharging products at various ports around the country.

    “So Nigerians should enjoy the New Year and that Mr. President’s directive and guidance which has been very helping has been executed and normalcy has returned.

    Almost a month after the remark, Nigerians, especially in the capital city of Abuja and its environs and many parts of the country, know better.

    The mood of Nigerians on the streets was perfectly captured by the remarks of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, last week.

    He said “The House expects that with the cooperation given to the executive arm to increase fuel price from N87 per litre to N145, based on the assurances, fuel scarcity ought to be a thing of the past.

    “We were also assured that fuel subsidy had come to an end. From recent developments on this subject, except the executive adduces compelling reasons why the reverse is the case, we will be justified in feeling betrayed,” he added.

    Urgent steps really need to be taken now to address the situation squarely.

    The sufferings must come to an end.

     

  • DPR sanctions 85 petrol sanctions in Delta

    DPR sanctions 85 petrol sanctions in Delta

    The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Warri Zonal Office has sanctioned over 95 erring petrol stations in Delta since fuel scarcity resurfaced in December 2017.

    The Zonal Operations Controller, Mr Antai Asuquo, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Warri that the petrol stations were sealed over offences bordering on hoarding, over-pricing and diversion of products.

    According to him, over 80 of the fuel stations were sanctioned between December 2017 and Jan. 3, while 15 others were booked in the last one week by the regulatory agency.

    He also said that two staffs of a fuel station in Warri were recently apprehended by the surveillance team for violating DPR seals’ rules.

    The controller added that the culprits would be released and the station unsealed after the owner  pays N1 million as penalty.

    He also said one station in Warri was sanctioned on Wednesday for diverting 38,000 litres of petrol, stressing that it would pay N200 per litre of the volume as punishment.

    Asuquo said he led a group of surveillance team to some depots in Koko, Warri North Local Government after monitoring some petrol stations in Warri and environs on Wednesday.

    According to him, the aim is to ascertain the claim by petroleum marketers that they purchase the products above the government approved ex-depot price of N133.28k per litre.

    Some petroleum marketers had told NAN in Warri that the landing cost of their product from the depots hovers between N167 to N178 per litre, as such it would be unwise for them to dispense at N145 per litre.

    Asuquo, however, cautioned depot owners and marketers against hoarding, noting that such would be counter-productive to the economy.

    “DPR have been monitoring and we will continue to intensify surveillance to ensure that marketers and depot owners comply strictly to the government approved pump prices.

    “We have sanctioned over 80 erring petrol stations before and in the last one week, we have sealed additional 15 stations across the state for hoarding, over-pricing and diversion of products.

    “We deploy two monitoring teams every working day to the field to ensure that we effectively covered all the Local Government Areas in Delta.

    “We also revisit the already visited petrol stations to ensure they dispense at the approved pump price of N145 per litre to the consumers,” he said..

    Asuquo urged depot owners to support government’s effort towards normalising the situation, adding that marketers should stop patronising depots that sell above approved price.

    “We appeal to the depot owners to sell at the government approved price as the product is provided to them by the government, they should also sell directly to the marketers rather than the “bulk or third party,” Asuquo said.

    He commended the Department of State Service (DSS) for its support and expressed confidence that the situation would soon be over.

  • Baru and fuel scarcity

    SIR: The current fuel scarcity in Nigeria has challenged Maikanti Baru’s position as Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and also tested his leadership qualities at a critical moment. Though it is a temporary situation, the eyes of every Nigerian and President Muhammadu Buhari are fixed on the NNPC to wet the entire nation. It is a tough task for the NNPC to solely stabilize fuel supply with optimum availability across the country, but it is attainable.

    Most observers in the oil and gas industry sympathize with both Baru and President Buhari, who is also Minister for Petroleum. Baru’s impeccable strides in the downstream sector within one year now has those achievements overshadowed by fuel scarcity, coming during the festive season during which demand is high with many Nigerians travelling.  Most Nigerians have forgotten that the long period of stability in fuel supply was possible through NNPC’s modest refining efforts; the revised Direct Sale of Crude Oil and Direct Purchase of Products (DSDP) programme and the re-commissioned Aba, Mosimi, Atlas-Cove and Kano depots.

    Fuel scarcity in Nigeria irritates most Nigerians; it also puts any NNPC-GMD on the edge of his or her seat. It is frustrating to know that many factors are responsible for the scarcity of petroleum products; however it hardly placates that the feasible and lasting solution is always simple- but often difficult to implement due to their complicated political nature.

    Nigerians already know some of the short and long terms solutions to the recurring fuel scarcity- continued massive importation by the NNPC which is unarguably expensive and unsustainable; re-introduction of the subsidy regime which is corruption prone; complete liberalization or deregulation which comes with high prices, public backlash and job losses, while construction of new refineries and rehabilitation of the existing ones are capital intensive and an extremely time consuming process.

    Maikanti Baru needs to bring on board and develop home-grown and off-the-shelf approaches to put lasting stability in fuel availability in Nigeria while at same time making sure the masses do not feel any pinch as well as will be in complete agreement with such solutions. It is possible, but with a new thinking.

    • Zayyad I. Muhammad,

     Jimeta, Adamawa State.

  • Ilorin residents groan as fuel scarcity bites harder

    Ilorin residents groan as fuel scarcity bites harder

    Fuel scarcity has apparently not abated in Kwara. Parents and students among others, on Monday, decried  the lingering problem.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that at motor parks in Ilorin, many passengers scramble for few vehicles.

    Some passengers and drivers said the fuel scarcity was unbearable, as motorists queue endlessly at filling stations.

    Anthony Ibe, a student of the University of Ilorin, said he had been on the queue for over an hour.

    “My lectures start by 8 am; this is past 10 am and I am still waiting to get a cab to school.

    “The situation is getting out of hand; what is the essence of going to school when we are already missing lectures.

    “There’s been a lot of push and fight here because everyone just wants to get into any available cab,” he said.

    Mrs. Ireti Ademola, a mother of two, bemoaned the situation, saying: “How do I cope with these children everyday without the ease of transportation?

    “I cannot carry both of them and at the same time struggle to get a cab, hence our little children are not left out in this suffering; they are already late.

    “I just hope this scarcity will end soon or government should postpone school resumption,” she said.

    A student of the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ismail Abdulkadir, said: “This is not encouraging at all, imagine going to school late because you cannot get a cab. We, the students, are always at the receiving end, we have to trek long distances as well as pay higher fares.

    “Please, how much is our pocket money that I have to pay more than N200 to and from school, and soon, the price of sachet water may increase.

    “This is just too much suffering to bear, the government should consider the plight of students and intervene in the lingering problem.”

    At the College of Education in Ilorin, students lamented the hike in fares and dearth of commercial vehicles.

    A transporter, simply Sheu, blamed the increase on the troubles motorists encounter before getting fuel.

    He said most of the time, they sleep at petrol stations to get fuel early.

     

  • Fuel scarcity: Fix refineries now, NUPENG urges NNPC

    Fuel scarcity: Fix refineries now, NUPENG urges NNPC

    The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) yesterday called for the rehabilitation of the nation’s refineries to end the recurring fuel scarcity across the country.

    The South-West Chairman of the union, Tayo Aboyeji, who made the call in a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria, said it is disheartening to know that despite the fact that the nation is a major producer of crude oil, it cannot refine the product for its local consumption.

    He said it is ridiculous that for the past 15 years, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has been spending billions of dollars on Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of the refineries with nothing to show for it,” saying if all our four refineries were producing at their maximum output, the country would not be spending such huge sum on importation of refined product.

    Aboyeji said this was the right time for our refineries to work, adding that the Federal Government should as a matter of urgency fix the refineries at this moment.

    He urged the NNPC to increase product supply to the depots so as to reduce the current scarcity nationwide, saying it was not ripe at the moment for total deregulation of the sector and advised that government should reduce import duty and provide waiver to oil companies to enable them import the product.

    On allegations that certain petrol stations were selling products above the official pump price, Aboyeji said the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), should investigate properly before sealing such stations.

    He said: “To me, it is not all about the pump price, it is about where they are getting the product from and at what price.”

    The NUPENG chief said DPR should first of all verify the price at which the depot owners sell to petrol stations to know if these private depots are selling above the ex-depot price of N133.28.

    Aboyeji wondered that since DPR started sealing of petrol stations selling above official pump price, if it (DPR), has asked private depots how much they are selling to marketers?

    He said oil marketers are in business to make money, saying they cannot get petrol at higher price and sell to motorists at lower price.

    He said it is the responsibility of DPR to find out the source of where the marketers are getting the product before sealing the stations.