The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Scarcity

  • Drivers protest fuel scarcity in Ekiti

    Barely 24 hours after  thugs attacked petrol stations in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, commercial drivers yesterday protested the refusal of marketers to sell fuel.

    Led by the state Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Clement Adekola and his Pick-Up and Lorry Transport Association counterpart, Adekunle Towoju, the protesters accused petrol station owners of working for the opposition.

    They marched from Fajuyi through Ojumose to Old Garage, saying the closure of filling stations inflicted hardship on them, as they travelled to neighbouring states to buy fuel.

    Marketers stopped selling the commodity last Monday in compliance with the order of national bodies of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN),

    National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petrol Tanker Drivers (PTD), to stop supply of fuel to Ekiti for alleged victimisation by Governor Ayo Fayose.

    Adekola said: “Drivers and artisans are affected. Most worrisome was the way the police maltreated our members, who bought petrol from Ondo, Osun and Kogi states. They harassed them at checkpoints. This must stop.

    “This protest will be a continuous one. If the marketers refuse to sell fuel, we will move against them.

    “We suspect they have been bought over by the opposition to destabilise Fayose’s government. We believe their resolve not to sell petrol during Gen. Adeyinka Adebayo’s burial was political.”

    Towoju said: “All over the world, there are rules and regulations guiding where filling stations are located. The last fire at Strive Energy Petrol Station in Ijigbo, Ado-Ekiti, gutted multi-million naira property and the victims were not compensated. Must this continue?

    “There are problems of recession and unemployment. Marketers should not aggravate our suffering.”

  • Dam: End of water scarcity in sight in Kogi communities

    Living without water for years, the prospect of a dam in Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu area of Kogi State has lifted the spirits of the constituents.

    A federal government dam project backed by the World Bank has been approved in the area.

    A representative of the constituency at the National Assembly, Hon. Teejay Yusuf facilitated the project, a development that has thrown the people into a celebratory mood.

    Yusuf, chair of the Committee on Capital Market and Institutions of the House of Representatives, was no less enthused, having fulfilled one of the promises he made to his people, whose long search for the precious liquid was reaching near ridiculous levels.

    With the approval of the dam project, the challenge of water will be greatly reduced, and a good reason why the people gathered to celebrate their son, at the project groundbreaking ceremony in Kabba.

    Yusuf said, “I discovered, painfully, that the non-availability of potable water is perhaps one of the biggest challenges in Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency. From Kabba to Iyara, Ogidi, Iyamoye, Okebukun, Ayetoro-Gbedde and indeed every community, the lack of drinking water was prevalent.

    ”To ameliorate the sufferings of our people, I reasoned that something immediate- as a short term measure, had to be put in place. You will recall that since 2011 and now, to the glory of God, I have succeeded in facilitating the construction/provision of numerous hand pump and solar powered boreholes in various communities within Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency.

    “Cognisant of the fact that to proffer a permanent solution to the challenge of potable water in our very Federal Constituency, there has to be something bigger, in terms of projects, cost and federal government involvement.

    “This massive project, perhaps the very first in Kogi West, when completed will run through many villages, towns and communities in Kabba-Bunu and Ijumu local government areas as well as some communities in Kogi West Senatorial district,” said the lawmaker.

    Commending others whose support made the water project a reality, including the Minister of Water Resources Suleiman Adamu, and kinsmen in the Federal Civil Service, he called for more collaboration to further develop the areas.

    He said, “You will recall that this sustained synergy has been very useful in our mutual desire to attract meaningful infrastructural, institutional and socio-economic development of our very dear Federal Constituency.”

  • Farmers lament scarcity, high cost of cassava stems

    Farmers in Enugu State yesterday lamented scarcity and high cost of cassava stems.

    They told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu farmers were concerned about the scarcity.

    A cassava farmer, Mr. Onyekwere Ikem, said getting cassava stems for cultivation was not a problem in the past.

    He said before now, we ask a friend or neighbour for stems to cultivate.

    “The stems are hardly sold in the market because people are always ready to provide them for whoever cares to have them.

    “However, because of its scarcity, people have started to hoard it and will rather prefer to sell it in the market than give it out due to its high price,’’ Ikem said.

    Mr. Obiora Ugwu, another cassava farmer, said he had gone from house to house, and from farmer to farmer in his quest to get cassava stems.

    “This is unbelievable, I have been searching for cassava stems from one farmer to another and from house to house so that I can have enough to cultivate, but to no avail.

    “I was able to get a few bundles, which will not be enough for me because my plan is to have much cassava next year,’’ he said.

    Ugwu said it was hard to explain why the stems had become scarce.

    A seller of cassava flakes, otherwise called gari in local parlance, Miss Ebere Ekwo, said if the scarcity persisted, it would increase the price of the commodity next year.

    Madam Ego Ibezim, a farmer, said a bundle of cassava stems, which formerly sold between N300 and N400, now sells for between N1,000 and N1, 500 at the rural markets in Enugu.

    Mr. Azubike Okoye, a cassava farmer, feared the situation might result in poor or low yields and late harvest.

    He enjoined the Ministry of Agriculture to assist farmers by giving them cassava stems at subsidised rates.

  • Fuel scarcity looms in Southwest

    The Southwest branch of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has threatened to withdraw services, following the introduction of Bulk Purchase Agreement (BPA) fee by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    If the marketers make good their threat, it will spark another round of petrol scarcity in the region.

    The association yesterday lamented the introduction of BPA, noting that petroleum marketers were usually exempted from payment of such fees.

    It warned that the introduction of a five-year BPA fee by NNPC may set it on a collision course with its members.

    The Chairman, IPMAN Ibadan Depot, Raheem Tayo, confirmed the development to The Nation, adding that the NNPC’s decision was unacceptable.

    He said: “How can our members be subjected to the payment of N125,000 annually for BPA fee, when we load petroleum products from private depots that charge far above the recommended retail price fixed by the government.”

    According to Tayo, NNPC’s request that the BPA fee be paid five years upfront, amounting to N625,000 per marketer may turn out to be the last straw that will break the camel’s back.

  • Scarcity of passport booklets persists

    Scarcity of passport booklets persists

    •Travellers lament

    •NIS: they’re available 

    THE Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) is now reeling in controversy over the shortage of 32-page passport booklets.
    It was gathered that travellers nationwide are finding it difficult purchasing the document as the agency saddled with the issuance is struggling to cope with demands. Reason: lack of sufficient stock.
    A highly placed source told The Nation that a stalemate on the review of the contract between the Federal Government and the company producing the travel document led to its scarcity.
    The source added that up till yesterday, the situation has not been resolved.
    The problem started since last year as the company that supplies passports demanded an upward review of the price Nigerians pay to obtain the document. But the government has not approved the proposal.
    The source said: “The sole supplier of the Nigerian passport sent the review request to the NIS in early 2016, arguing that the cost of producing Nigerian passports had gone up because of the poor exchange rate of naira to the dollar.
    “The company partially stopped supplying the 32-page passport booklets since the middle of last year, causing acute shortage in issuance.
    “Top management of the NIS made a recommendation to the government in March 2016 that the cost of issuing the passport be increased, but the government has not acted on the matter.”
    When The Nation visited the NIS headquarters in Abuja and its office in Gwagwalada, several applicants for the 32-page passport booklets were seen lamenting about the scarcity.
    Some of them told The Nation that their biometrics had been captured, adding that only few could get theirs, owing to the scarcity of the booklets.
    The sources said they were advised that applicants, who urgently need the passports, should apply for the 64-page passport booklets, which was available but cost more.
    The 64-page passport booklets were introduced in 2014 for frequent travellers, who usually filled up the 32-page passport booklets before its five-year expiration.
    The official costs of 64-page is N20,000 and the 32-page (N15, 000).
    NIS spokesman Sunday James, while reacting to the development, denied the shortage, insisting that the 32-page booklets were available for purchase.
    He said NIS Comptroller-General Mohammed Babandede is not resting on its oars at ensuring that passport booklets were available.
    James, in a statement issued a week ago, said: “The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has neither problem of shortage nor lack of passport booklets.
    “Last week alone, 10,000 booklets were shared to passport offices nationwide,” James said.
    He advised Nigerians to avoid patronising touts and always use the NIS passport offices across the country.
    In the heat of the controversy, James issued a statement explaining the scarcity of the 32-page passport and how the service had been working to ensure the availability of the documents as well as the 64-page passport booklets.
    It reads in part: “Nigerians are frequent travellers, high net worth business men and women and professionals with business links and professional assignments all over the world. The frequency of such travels necessitates quick exhaustion of the 32-page passport booklets. Hence, the wisdom of the NIS leadership to produce a 64-page passport, which takes care of frequent travellers and captures every other person that will need extra pages of passport for ease of travel.
    “Touts hanging around passport offices do more harm than good to the aspirations and desires of Nigerians in their efforts to get passports by intercepting prospective applicants outside the passport office areas or pretending to be a staff. Nigerians are advised to keep to the rule by dealing with no other person apart from those designated officers/men on schedule duty at our passport offices…
    “Let us sanitise the system together by reporting suspected cases to the passport officers in charge and also take advantage of the Immigration Service’s official online and social media platforms to make legitimate inquiries and reports.”
    But those who spoke with The Nation urged lasting solution to the problem.

  • Fitch: forex market changes may ease scarcity

    Fitch: forex market changes may ease scarcity

    Measures announced on 20 February by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may ease some of the severe foreign currency liquidity pressure faced by the country’s banks, Fitch Ratings says.

    The most important aspect of the CBN’s announcement is a plan to normalise the foreign exchange (forex) interbank market, the group said. The intention is to clear the backlog of overdue foreign currency obligations owed by banks to international creditors.

    According to Fitch, “these are primarily trade finance obligations owed to correspondent banks. In addition, the CBN will no longer have a say in how banks on-lend the foreign currency they access from it. Banks previously had to demonstrate that funds were being directed to priority sectors of the economy. The CBN says providing foreign currency to the manufacturing sector is still a priority, but with restrictions eased, larger banks with greater access to foreign currency will be free to lend to the smaller banks whose access to international funding is restricted.”

    The CBN has also stated its intention to increase intervention in the forex interbank market to increase supply. The CBN has also reduced the maximum waiting times for banks to take delivery of foreign currency through its forward sales contracts to 60 days from 180. The first of these forwards was announced yesterday for $500million, with banks reported to have bought around $371million in one-month and two-month forwards. This should help banks make more timely payments to creditors, speeding up the flow of currency to importers and helping the economy.

    The CBN’s initiatives are an important boost for banks as access to foreign currency liquidity is tight and banks have struggled to meet their foreign currency obligations. Nigeria is highly dependent on imports and Nigerian banks have long provided trade finance facilities to importers.

    Currency scarcity and exchange rate weakness have made it harder for importers reliant on naira-denominated cash flows to service US dollar-denominated trade finance lines, forcing some banks to restructure their obligations with international correspondent banks last year.

  • IPMAN: fuel scarcity imminent

    IPMAN: fuel scarcity imminent

    • NNPC: we are not aware

    The Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) yesterday raised the alarm that petrol may soon be scarce as private depot owners are now selling the product above pump price.

    Its Vice National President, Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi, who disclosed this to The Nation on phone yesterday, added that owing to the prevailing situation in the depots nationwide, marketers in far areas may increase their pump prices.

    He said: “Our members have started complaining about the issue of this price increase by private depots owners. They are increasing the price now seriously which will not allow our marketers to sell the product at the government rate.

    “They are selling at between N140 and N143 from the private depots.  And if the NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) and DPR (Department of Petroleum Resources) do not take drastic measure against it, it may likely cause scarcity nationwide.

    “Since the private depots are not selling at the DPR’s dictate, these private depots are selling above the government rate that we are supposed to pay. They are supposed to give us this product at the rate of N133.28. This is giving us serious problem nationwide now.

    “The normal rate at which the marketers are supposed to sell this product is at the rate of N145 and we are supposed to get this product at the rate of N133.28 and we are not getting it like that.

    “This is a serious problem as the marketers cannot sell above government rate and if the marketers cannot sell the product automatically, there will be scarcity.

    “The other marketers who are in remote areas may start to push up their price because there is no way you can do the business without gain.”

    According to him, it is not an excuse for the depot owners to claim that they sell above petrol pump price due to scarcity of foreign exchange.

    He added that the  NNPC is now the sole importer of the product so marketers cannot blame their hike on scarcity of forex.

    This, manipulation, said Maigandi, is known to the DPR.

    “DPR and NNPC are all aware. You can confirm from them why the private depots are selling above the government rate. And nobody is importing the product other than NNPC. So they have no excuse to say that it is because of the forex. It is NNPC that is solely bringing  this product. So for them to say they are selling above official price because of forex is not true,” he said.

    Reacting, the NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu said the corporation was unaware  that private depot owners had increased  their pump prices.

    According to him, the NNPC as a player in the industry like other marketers, and has always stayed within the band of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA).

  • On scarcity, high cost of kerosene

    SIR: In Nigeria, kerosene is known to be the product for the poor as most of the disadvantaged people in the country use it while the rich ones use gas due to the fact that it facilitates and make cooking faster than kerosene. The high cost of kerosene and its unstable price is now a serious issue and something should be done fast to stabilize its price and make it affordable for the sake of the poor in the country, for the sake of change and for the sake of good.

    In most states of the federation, a litre of kerosene currently sells between N220 to N400. Notwithstanding the high cost, it is also unavailable in many places in the country and that has pushed majority of the citizenry into the use of firewood and charcoal to cook their foods.

    It is very unfortunate that kerosene’s price has never been stable even in the previous administrations; what Nigerians are experiencing now in terms of price and unavailability has gone far beyond what was obtainable in the previous regimes. If urgent action is not taken now to deal with the situation, one day, a litre will be sold for (N1000.

    The government should know that Nigerians are going through hard times and anything that can be done to help ease or lessen their burden has to be done in earnest and urgently.  One needs not argue whether or not the Buhari administration mean well for this nation; what is important at the moment is that the nation is not well and the high cost of kerosene and its unavailability has contributed to the ill-health of the nation.

    Any action to help remedy the problem of scarcity and its fluctuating price has become an imperative.  The time to make kerosene affordable is now; the time to make it available is now; the time to ease the sufferings of Nigerians is now. The time to do what can benefits the poor is now; the time to wipe the prolonged tears of the poor is now. The time to start experiencing positive change is now.

     

    • Awunah Pius Terwase,

    Mpape, Abuja.

  • Firms blame forex scarcity for power problems

    The power sector is hard-hit by the rising cost of foreign exchange (forex). This has resulted in its inability to fulfil customer’s obligations, The Nation has learnt.

    The sector, it learnt,  was finding it difficult to get meters, transformers, transmission sub-stations, gas and other facilities, because of the forex shortage.

    The Nation further learnt that many of the firms were unable to get enough forex for importation while many others were scared of buying forex at N305 per dollar. The situation is impacting on their capacity to meet the needs of customers, who crave for improved electricity supply.

    The implementation of flexible exchange rate mechanism by the Federal Government last year to enable the firms source for dollars from multiple windows could not help as the companies struggle to get dollars.

    Group Leader, Generation, Sahara Power, Mike Uzoigwe, said power generation companies (GenCos) were finding it difficult to break even due to cost of dollar. Sahara Group owns Egbin Power Plant.

    Uzoigwe said the price of gas was denominated in dollars, stressing that firms, which hitherto paid N165 per unit of gas, now pay N430 for the same quantity of gas.

    Uzoigwe said: “From all indications, it is difficult for the firms to break even, considering the rising cost of dollars. You can imagine million of dollars, which a generation company (GenCo), would pay to buy gas. The astronomical rise in the value of dollar has resulted in a corresponding rise in the cost of spare parts used for our machineries.”

    Also, the Chief Executive Officer, Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), Oladele Amoda, said forex scarcity was having debilitating effects on the activities of the sector. He said a transformer, which was N2.5million, currently costs N4million due to huge exchange rate.

  • Fuel scarcity disrupts Arik Air’s flights

    Fuel scarcity disrupts Arik Air’s flights

    Arik Air flights were yesterday grounded at the Lagos Airport over its inability to secure aviation aviation, it was learnt.

    According to a source close to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the inability of carrier to air lift passengers out of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Airport, Ikeja, Lagos was borne out of its inability to get aviation fuel at the Lagos Airport.

    Tne NCAA source did not give details.

    Another source hinted that the Airport Police Command has deployed a detachment of officers and men to the international wing of the airport to maintain peace and order over a possible backlash by passengers trapped in the flight disruptions.

    “I learnt that Arik Air has not operated any flight today on account of lack of aviation fuel. However, other flights by other airlines operated flights in and out of the Lagos Airport,” the source said.

    Meanwhile, scores of passengers remain stranded at the airport.

    The airline is yet to officially comment on the issue.

    Many of Arik Air passengers on the international routes created scene at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport yesterday over flight delays.

    Trouble started when the airline’s passengers particularly those billed to travel on the airline to the Lagos/Johannesburg and Lagos/JFK, New York routes waited for hours without being called for boarding.

    After waiting for hours without any hope of making the flights and without enough communications from the airline ticketing staff, the situation which had already become tensed resulted to open confrontation between the aggrieved passengers and some officials of the airline.