The Nation Newspaper

Tag: fuel

  • DPR seals off four filling stations in A/Ibom

    DPR seals off four filling stations in A/Ibom

    The Department of Petroleum Resources has sealed off four filling stations in Akwa Ibom State for selling premium motor spirit (PMS) above the federal government approved price of N86.50.

    DPR has also fined Jobina filling station located in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital the sum of N1 million for selling petroleum product after DPR had sealed off the filling station .

    Mr. Bassey Nkanga, the DPR’s Operation Controller in Charge of Akwa Ibom and Cross River States, revealed this during his surveillance of filling stations within the Uyo metropolis on Saturday.

    Nkanga noted that DPR had earlier sealed the filling station for not having a valid licence.

    He explained that the station had been operating for about 10 years without valid licence in the state.

    According to him, the filling station would pay the sum of one Million naira for violating seal order, adding that the whole station had been sealed off.

    His words: “This station is under sealed because is operating without valid licence and is not a new filling station that is just newly built.

    “This is an old station that has not regularise its licence and we shut it down but coming here today, we saw them selling AGO, whereas the whole station had been sealed.”

    Nkanga said that depot owners who sell petroleum products above ex-depot price would be sanctioned.

    He said that if marketers would not sell their products at government regulated price, they should stop bringing products to the state.

    According to him, any marketer that will sell petroleum products, especially PMS above government price will be sealed accordingly.

    He said: “Any marketer that cannot sell petroleum product at stipulated rate of N86.50 should not even bring the product to the states at all.”

    He said that the Federal Government was partnering Stakeholders in the downstream sector to ensure that normalcy return to the petroleum industry in no time.

  • Fuel scarcity: Food vendors make sales at petrol stations

    The lingering fuel scarcity in Abuja has created a good business environment for food and confectionery sellers to make brisk sales at petrol stations.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in most fuel stations along the Airport Road, some food vendors were seen selling food and sachet water to drivers waiting to buy fuel.

    One of the vendors, Mrs. Funke Joseph, who spoke to NAN, said that the current fuel situation had helped increase her sales.

    “I saw the long queue and I knew some of them slept here and would be hungry by now, so I used the opportunity to come and sell to them.

    “As you can see , people are buying my snacks and I have made lot of sales already this morning more than what I would have made at my stand,” she said.

    Mr Idris Umar, a sachet water seller, said that business was really good at the petrol station, adding that he had sold more than five bags of water this morning.

    Umar said that the drivers were willing to buy the water whether cold or not.

    “I have sold almost five bags of pure water just this morning only on this queue; the drivers are rushing the water because of the hot weather.

    “I even had to call my brother to come here and sell their water because the demand is more than supply.”

    Miss Patience Okeke, a bean cake seller, said that she used the opportunity of the fuel situation to hawk ‘akara’ at the filling station, adding that she sold them off within a short time.

    “I was here yesterday and I finished selling all my akara. So, today I said I must come back and I will keep coming everyday till the fuel issue ends.

    “In my area where I sell my akara, sometimes I return home without selling everything so this is a good opportunity for me to make more money to take care of my family.”

    NAN also reports that some drivers spent the night at the filling stations and some were seen lying down on top of their vehicles waiting for the filling station to commence sales for the day.

    A motorist, Mr Adebowale Adebayo, who also spoke to NAN, said that he had to sleep in the filling station to ensure he got fuel.

    “I left my office yesterday after I closed from work at around 6 p.m. and headed straight to the filling station: this is almost 9 a.m. and I have still not bought fuel.”

    Another motorist, Mr Adamu Bello, said that he also slept at the filling station in order to get fuel in the morning.

    “I decided to sleep here so I can be sure of getting fuel today; if I did not do that only God knows when I will get fuel.

    “At least the queue is moving gradually so I know it would soon be my turn.”

  • Kachikwu, PPPRA leadership crisis and fuel scarcity

    In the last 45 days, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) has been bogged down by a leadership crisis. The tussle is believed to be fuelling the biting petrol scarcity. Stakeholders are worried that if not resolved, it may hamper PPPRA’s role in ensuring smooth operation of the downstream sector. EMEKA UGWUANYI reports. 

    All is not well at the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA). A leadership crisis, which is threatening to tear the agency apart, is believed to be partly responsible for the biting fuel scarcity.

    Since February 15, when the Federal Government sacked the heads of parastatals and directed the most senior officers to take charge, all of them complied, except PPPRA which then had two acting Executive Secretaries.

    This made many to question the  government’s sincerity to enforce reforms, PPPRA sources told The Nation.

    The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) wondered why the staff of operating/marketing companies should be drafted as Executive Secretaries of PPPRA, a regulatory agency, when there are competent hands.

    A meeting between PENGASSAN and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, to resolve the issue ended in what the Union described as “mere promise”.

    The union also approached the National Assembly to protect the PPPRA. It insisted that it was wrong to  appoint staff of operating/marketing companies as Executive Secretaries.

    Earlier, the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) invited the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), the Acting Executive Secretary and PPPRA Management to appear before it last February 25 and March 22.

    The acting Executive Secretary, Mrs. Sotonye Iyoyo reportedly made efforts to douse the tension over what is hindering the agency’s performance, it was learnt.

    According to PPPRA sources, though Mrs.  Iyoyo is well known in the industry, Kachikwu is reportedly shopping for another acting Executive Secretary within the PPPRA management. This, it was learnt, is an attempt to pre-empt the union against the appointment of marketing companies’ officials.

    What is disturbing is the desperation in naming a Manager on level 14 over about eight level 16 officers without first redeploying or retiring them. This, a source said is in bad taste.

    The source alleged: “The new acting Executive Secretary is a novice in PPPRA’s operations. The aim is deliberate – to allow some faceless external forces to call the shots.The acting Executive Secretary runs a referral style of administration where she consults big wigs in operating companies before taking decisions. It’s unfortunate indeed.

    “Her appointment as the acting Executive Secretary has nailed the PPPRA and made it a lame duck and an appendage of marketing companies. PPPRA is a shadow of itself, from a robust, independent regulatory agency on its creation in 2003 to a rubber stamp organisation.”

    In a March 11 letter, Senate President Bukola Saraki referred the union’s agitation to the Senate Committee on Downstream.The union is hopeful that the National Assembly will end the impunity at PPPRA, which began after the removal of its pioneer Executive Secretary, Dr. Oluwole Oluleye, the sources said. According to the source, the fuel crisis, the lopsided allocation and unlevel operating environment are the antithesis of what the agency was set up to do.

    “The leadership of the PPPRA is a huge joke. The disturbing aspect is that Dr. Kachikwu was hoodwinked into believing that the choice of Mrs. Iyoyo was genuine. It is so glaring that the choice of another acting Executive Secretary buttresses the union’s allegation that there must be something cynical and curious about the manner of her appointment,” the sources added.

    The PENGASSAN-PPPRA branch Chairman and Secretary, Comrades Victor Ononokpono and Ghide Muhammad said the union would reveal the reasons for the haste in the appoinment.

    The union had advised President Muhammadu Buhari on how to appoint an Executive Secretary from a long list of those who understand the industry. The union alleged that there is a clique of  influential officials in the public service that determines who becomes what under Kachikwu’s leadership. They misguide the minister, who may not be in league with their grand plan, it added.

    The source said: “The greatest minus for Moses Mbaba, the most senior official when the presidential directive for CEOs to hand over to the most senior officers in their organisations came is his forthrightness. He is a disciplinarian and an honest public servant. There was the fear of his not willing to be part of a cover-up of so many untoward activities. So, to discredit him, a purported waiver was said to have been obtained to appoint another acting Executive Secretary under the pretext that he was not technical enough.

    “PPPRA is characterised by poor leadership and the lack of operational independence vindicates the Union’s agitation for independence. The PPPRA Board should be immediately constituted. It is unimaginable that petroleum marketers are not able to get foreign exchange (forex) from the Central Bank of Nigeria when the apex bank is on the board of PPPRA.

    ‘’How could distribution of import allocation be lopsided if all the stakeholders represented on the board participate in the process? Who protects the consumer against predatory tendencies of operators?”

  • Petrol sells for N150 per litre in Ibadan

    Prime Motor Spirit (otherwise known as petrol) now sells for N150 per litre in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    The new pump price, which is about double the official price, became popular due to the worsening scarcity of the products.

    Aside a few major marketers selling the product at the official rate of N86, most filling stations including those owned by independent marketers were closed for the long weekend.

    At the very few filling stations selling the product at the official price, queues were long.

    A few independent marketers who opened for business, however, sold the product at the rate of N150 per litre.

    An independent marketer who spoke in confidence to The Nation, said the problem is caused by poor supply which is as a result of government policy.

    Motorists continued to lament the situation as they are forced to cough out more, and even travel long distances to get the product.

    The situation was worse in other towns in Oyo State.

  • Gunmen shoot motorists on fuel queue in Kwara

    The-yet-to-abate fuel scarcity in the country assumed a dangerous dimension on Saturday in Ilorin, the Kwara state as three gunmen opened fire on motorists queuing for petrol.
    The incident happened at one Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Filling Stations in the metropolis.
    In the ensuing melee, it was gathered that the gunmen left two young men and a lady with serious injuries.
    Some others on the queue and other officials of the station were said to have scampered for safety.
    The incident according to eyewitnesses occurred in the early hours of the day. It was gathered that the three men were part of some youths who had forced themselves on the station, located along Offa Garage Road, to manage the gates to reduce the practice by many motorists to jump the queue in their desperate bid to get fuel.
    An eyewitness said “it was due to an argument among the boys; you know they are thugs and they have been at the gate but we don’t really know what led to the argument but we just suddenly heard the gunshots and it was later discovered that some people were seriously injured.”
    The three victims it was gathered were rushed to a private hospital, Yusjib Industrial Medicare, along the same axis.
    The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the facility, Dr Yusuf Abdulraheem, told newsmen the three victims were in stable conditions. He said one of them had been taken to a laboratory where the bullets in him would be extracted.
    Kwara police command’s spokesperson Ajayi Okasanmi confirmed the development.
    He said that one of the gunmen has been arrested adding that a locally made pistol and some live cartridges were recovered from the suspect.
    Management of the filling station could not be reached, as the Manager only promised to call back after several calls to him. He also did not respond to text messages from reporters.

  • Fuel hits N180 in Edo

    Price of Premium Motor Spirit also known as fuel has risen to N180 per litre at some filling stations owned by Independent Marketers in Benin City

    At the black market, fuel sold for N200 per litre and above.

    Fuel was sold at some NNPC mega filling station and some major marketers that were supplied fuel from Benin Depot of the NNPC sold fuel at the approved pump price.

    Fuel chart released at the Benin depot showed that about 800,000 liters of fuel were supplied to filling stations across the state.

    A manager at one of the fuel station where fuel was sold for N160 said they got the product at a price of N120 per litre.

    Prices of transport fares have however soared within Benin City and environs.

    Ring Road to Oluku that used to cost N70 now cost N100.

  • Photo: Fuel hustle bites harder

    Photo: Fuel hustle bites harder

    MOTORISTS QUEUING TO PURCHASE PETROL AT A FILLING STATION ON OLUSEGUN BOASANJO WAY, CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT IN ABUJA ON FRIDAY
    MOTORISTS QUEUING TO PURCHASE PETROL AT A FILLING STATION ON OLUSEGUN OBASANJO WAY, CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT IN ABUJA ON FRIDAY
    PETROL HAWKERS DISPLAY THEIR COMMODITY ALONG NNAMDI AZIKIWE EXPRESSWAY BETWEEN BANEX JUNCTION AND MABUSHI, AS PETROL SCARCITY CONTINUES IN ABUJA ON FRIDAY
    PETROL HAWKERS DISPLAY THEIR COMMODITY ALONG NNAMDI AZIKIWE EXPRESSWAY BETWEEN BANEX JUNCTION AND MABUSHI, AS PETROL SCARCITY CONTINUES IN ABUJA ON FRIDAY
    A MOTORISTS PURCHASING PETROL FROM HAWKERS ON THE OUTER NORTHERN EXPRESSWAY AT JAHI DISTRICT, AS PETROL SCARCITY CONTINUES IN ABUJA ON FRIDAY
    A MOTORISTS PURCHASING PETROL FROM HAWKERS ON THE OUTER NORTHERN EXPRESSWAY AT JAHI DISTRICT, AS PETROL SCARCITY CONTINUES IN ABUJA ON FRIDAY
  • Fuel queues end weekend, says PPMC

    Fuel queues end weekend, says PPMC

    The Managing Director, Pipelines and  Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Mrs. Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue, yesterday assured fuel queues will disappear from petrol stations across the country by this weekend.

    She apologised to Nigerians over the harrowing experience they had been subjected to over the past two week or there about, adding the Federal Government shared their pains.

    “We have people trucking out (fuel) from Port Harcourt, Warri, Ogarra, Calabar as alternative sources for Lagos. So, all efforts are being made to ensure that by weekend, all these would be a thing of the past,” the PPMC chief said.

    On the causes of scarcity of the petrol across the country, she said: “It happens when there is any issue or breach at any point in the value chain and when the reaction did not take immediate effect, it reflects almost immediately.”

    Acccording to her, there was sensitisation of the public a few weeks ago about the probable situation.

    Mrs. Nnamdi-Ogbue who spoke with reporters in Abuja, said the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and all its agencies such as the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPRA) and the Petroleum Equilisation Fund (PEF) now have a Taskforce comprising their officials to help address the problem.

    She said efforts were being made to ensure that “while we are trucking out efficiently, approvals and all necessary documentations are done effectively to make sure that there is no delay in the process of trucking out and distribution and that things are effectively done.”

    According to her, the PPMC was also working in collaboration with the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and major marketers to ensure that the queues fizzle out.

    “We are getting their cooperation to make sure that all their members’ trucks actually arrive as scheduled, so they also do their part in monitoring products supply. We also work in collaboration with the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) and they have been most supportive in efforts to bring the situation under control,” she said.

    She pointed out that the company now uses about 400 intervention trucks in order to service marketers to ensure that the filling stations are sufficiently wet, especially in Abuja and Lagos where they consume about 60 per cent of daily national consumption figures.

    “Right now, we have about eight vessels coming in, each of which ranges between 30 to 40 thousand metric tonnes capacity and these should be more than enough to ensure sufficiency. On Wednesday alone, over one thousand trucks were loaded and trucked out by the majors and PPMC,” she said.

    “Basically, we have the supply of an entire cargo per day, a cargo consists of about 40 million litres of fuel which is the estimated national consumption volume per day in Nigeria. We are hopeful that this will soon be a thing of the past and we are making efforts to ensure that it never happen.

  • Blame NNPC for fuel scarcity, says PTD

    Blame NNPC for fuel scarcity, says PTD

    The Petroleum Tankers Drivers (PTD) Branch of National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has blamed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the fuel scarcity in some parts of the country.

    PTD National Chairman Comrade Salimon Akanni Oladiti, who spoke in an interview with reporters in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, said oil marketers were not hoarding fuel.

    “We are not conniving with anybody to make Nigerians suffer for fuel. For some time now, we have not been able to load at NNPC depot in Apata, Ibadan and there is no hope of loading in some other NNPC depots in the Southwest.

    “Government is responsible for this problem, because if they bring enough oil into the country, we as distributors we are ready to sell it out. It’s so sad that we are one of the largest producers of oil, but we are still suffering from scarcity,” he said

    Oladiti added: “NNPC imports about 75 per cent of the oil we are consuming in the country. The remaining 25 percentage is for major marketers.

    “What the government is trying to tackle still exist; corruption is still in the oil industry. There is corruption and bribery at the oil depots and you have to face this hurdle before you can load your truck.”

    He noted that government needs to find lasting solution to incessant fuel scarcity, adding: “The common man in the country is suffering.”

    He urged the government to embark on aggressive rehabilitations of roads and railway networks

  • Fuel scarcity bites harder in Lagos

    Long queues of vehicles have returned to filling stations in Lagos. No thanks to fuel scarcity.

    Many filling stations did not open for business. Others that opened and sold fuel at the official pump price of N86.50 were observed deducting N50 or N100 from buyers, depending on the quantity of litres they bought.

    When The Nation visited some filling stations in the metropolis, the queues of residents buying in jerry cans were longer than that of motorists.

    The situation was compounded by poor power supply.

    The queues created gridlock along the routes housing filling stations and the highways, especially at the Omole junction to Berger on Lagos-Ibadan road.

    A Keke Marwa operator in Agege, Timothy, said he bought 10 litres of fuel and the fuel attendant collected N100 as bribe from him.

    He said: “When will I stop to suffer in this country. I couldn’t even say a word when she deducted the money because I was on queue for over six hours. I just needed to work today because we don’t pay for any ticket on Sundays.”

    A resident in Oshodi, Mr. Jobi Atobatele, said he had to leave his house to buy fuel because he could not stand the heat.

    “I sent my son last night to buy fuel, but he said the queue was long and that they only attended to area boys. I am out today and I must say the situation is not better.

    “I will make sure I buy fuel because we hardly have light these days. I refuse to adapt to things like this because it is painful. Everything changed in the country within weeks. Where is the problem from?” he lamented.

    Another resident, Joseph, said: “It is a recurring problem that seems to define logic. There is always one explanation or the other. We just need to refine our oil locally. Anything short of that, we will continue to be at the mercy of international suppliers.”

    A driver, Mufule Suraj, said he bought petrol in a jerry can last week to avoid long queues.

    “I don’t pray to face what happened last year, when I resumed at filling stations at 4am. This fuel scarcity has been happening for about two weeks, but yesterday’s scenario was worse.

    “Most of us work freely on Sundays without disturbance from area boys, but today, we bus drivers are at filling stations for tomorrow’s business. We need help in this country. For how long do we want to do this? The Federal Government shouldn’t allow it to exceed this week.”

    Babatunde Adisa, an analyst, said it was unfortunate that “Nigerians are still lamenting over scarcity of fuel at this stage of our nationhood”.

    “We are one of the largest producers of the product in the world. One would have thought that the current administration would have found a lasting solution to the perennial fuel shortage, which was one of its cardinal points during the electioneering period.

    “Already, we can see the effects of fuel scarcity, which include worsening poverty level and rise in inflation. If it is not addressed in time, this scarcity may lead to another social unrest. It appears the oil marketers are literally holding the nation by the jugular. In my view, this is an artificial scarcity,” he said.