FG Lying to Nigerians About Fuel Scarcity - Marketers

The limited in supply of Premium Motor Spirit is now Obvious as it affects the whole federation. This scarcity is fueled by Forex crisis and the unavailability of stock.
There are uncertainties about the availability of
petrol, as most depots are without stock, while
marketers have reportedly not been importing
due to
scarcity of foreign exchange.
According to a major marketer, who chose to
remain anonymous, “we cannot be talking about
stock level because there is no stock at all. No
depot has up to 5,000 metric tonnes of petrol,
which is about 200 trucks. Once there is supply,
it is distributed immediately.”
This was corroborated by sources at Department
of Petroleum Resources, DPR, who told
Source that the nation cannot boast of any
stock level now, as products are sent to states
the moment they are imported.
However, Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation, NNPC, yesterday, stated that 1,120
truckloads, comprising 36.957 million litres of
Premium Motor Spirit, PMS (petrol) had been
distributed across the country.
DPR threatens sanctions
This was even as DPR read the riot act to
petroleum products marketers across the
country, warning that it would deal severely with
any marketer found sabotaging efforts by Federal
Government to address the fuel crisis currently
witnessed across the country.
The DPR, in a statement by its Director,
Petroleum Resources, Mr. Mordecai Ladan,
maintained that marketers must ensure that
petroleum products get across to Nigerians
timely and at the regulated prices, especially as
every effort is being made to ensure that
petroleum products supply and distribution
situation in the country is normalised.
According to him, the security agencies in
collaboration with DPR will arrest and prosecute
any errant marketer involved in sabotaging
government’s commitment at making petroleum
products readily available to Nigerians.
On the supply situation across the country,
NNPC said six NNPC and marketers vessels are
currently discharging at various depots/jetties
nationwide, while seven NNPC import/shuttle
vessels had been programmed to do Ship-to-Ship
operation for onward discharge to inland depots.
Wednesday’s distribution
NNPC also stated that 20 import vessels laden
with a total volume of 830.1 million litres had
arrived in the month of April for NNPC.
Giving a breakdown of trucks dispatched to
selected states on Wednesday, NNPC said 405
truckloads of petrol were dispatched to Lagos;
130 trucks, Abuja; Kano, 13; Port Harcourt, 54
and Kaduna, 21.
Anambra and Ondo received 13 trucks each,
while Sokoto, Borno, Katsina, Plateau and Kogi
received nine, six, 15, seven and 17 trucks,
respectively.
Others are Ogun, 53; Kebbi, 34; Bauchi, 18;
Delta, 34; Bayelsa, nine and Benue, 11.
NNPC had also stated that it had 17 days
sufficiency, up from three to four days in March
at the peak of petrol shortage.
We don't have products —Marketer
Meanwhile, when source visited depots at
Apapa, there were little or no activities, as they
complained of depleted stock.
A depot marketer, who spoke to
source on condition of anonymity, said:
“Nigerians are being conned to believe scarcity
will disappear. How is this possible when we
have less to sell to marketers?
“How is it that NNPC distributes about 36.957
million litres of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, and
yet we are still left with nothing at the depots?
The mystery is far from our grasp.
“However, what we were asked to do is to help
government with our trucks to ease the
dispatching of petroleum product across the
country.
“For now, we are practically out of business
because there is no Forex to import and until
there is Forex, we are practically rendered
handicap.
“We are supposed to provide the balance of the
40 percent component, while NNPC handles 60
percent, but that will only end up becoming a
dream due to Forex problems.