Fuel scarcity may last for three weeks

 Segun Bakare Last week’s release of the petrol import allocation to marketers has not eliminated long queues of motorists at filling stations in most parts of the country and the situation is likely to get worse in the days ahead, DAYO OKETOLA and OKECHUKWU NNODIM write The current scarcity of petrol in many parts of the country may persist for the next three weeks, our correspondents have gathered. Many motorists spent most part of Saturday and Sunday in queues at the few filling stations that had the product to sell in Lagos and Ogun states, as well as the Federal Capital Territory, with fears that the situation might degenerate in the coming days. The Chairman, South-West chapter, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, Mr. Tokunbo Korodo, who spoke with one of our correspondents on Sunday, said that most of the depots in the country were already empty, adding that the available product could not meet the national demand, hence the queues. He, however, said the situation would take about three to four weeks to ease considering the fact that marketers only received the import allocation for the first
quarter last week. Korodo, said, “There was a delay in the approval of import allocation to the marketers. The import allocation was given last week and you know everything has a due process. The marketers will have to contact their banks, order for the product, and ship the product to Nigeria. As such, it will take three to four weeks for the product to get to the Nigerian soil. “Had it been that the government was proactive enough to give approval to them in time, we will not be in this situation; and now, we should be thinking about the approval for the second quarter because this is March already.” He also spoke on the way forward, saying, “If the NNPC can release whatever they have in their own stock to all the marketers that have facilities to distribute and dispense, the scarcity will be quenched. We all know that the NNPC’s ability to distribute petroleum products is being hampered as a result of vandalism of pipelines. “Therefore, it is distributing through some private facilities, but it has preference in releasing products to the marketers. But if the NNPC can release the products it has in its stock to all the marketers, this ugly situation will be quickly arrested. But if it continues to give preference to some marketers, the situation will continue to escalate.” The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency released the import allocation for the first quarter last week, but expert said it came after the product stocked by most marketers had already dried up. The Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Obafemi Olawore, had warned of an impending scarcity if the import allocation was not released in time, stressing it would not augur well for the country if the major marketers’ stocks were allowed to dry up. “There will be fuel scarcity in the country if the major marketers’ supply is not replenished because we account for 60 per cent of the national product demand across the country,” he had said.

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