DSS ultimatum: Fuel scarcity eases, as prices go up, cost N170–N350 per litre in Lagos, Plateau, Imo, FCT, Ebonyi

 

 

DANIEL DAUDA, Jos, VICTOR DURUAMAKU, Owerri, FAVOUR ISHEMBER, Abuja and CLEMENT NNACHI, Abakaliki

 

 

The 48 hours ultimatum handed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, marketers and other stakeholders by the Department of State Services, DSS to resolve fuel scarcity nationwide expired at the weekend with noticeable improvement in the supply of the product in parts of the country and increase in the price of the product. But scarcity of the product persisted in some states.

 

Investigation by Daily Champion revealed that marketers in Lagos state, Nigeria’s economic hub of the nation now sell fuel at different prices of between N170 and N250 per litre. It was discovered  that only a few major marketers including Mobil, Conoil and Forte Oil which had petrol were seen dispensing at N170 per litre while other marketers sold above N220.

 

The Mobil filling station and Conoil at Airport road  were seen selling N170 per litre but each motorist had to pay N500 ‘appreciation’ to the pump attendant. A resident, Mr. Chika Nwafor said the filling stations selling at N170 are those on the expressway who are constantly being monitored by the Authorities. However, the situation was different at Ijegun, Orile, Okeafa, Isheri Oshun  the pump price was between N220- to N250 per litre.

 

 

 

In neighboring Sango Ota, Ogun state, most of the filling stations among them  NNPC station on Ijoko road dispensed petrol to buyers at N250 per litre from its pumps without queues as motorists bought grudgingly.

 

Also, the people of Imo State particularly residents of Owerri, the state capital, Okigwe and Orlu are now experiencing hardship following the sudden rise in petroleum products.

 

At the weekend, the pump price of fuel was between N250 and N270 per litre depending on the area of the state one  is buying the product

Similarly, the pump prices of kerosene and diesel  had further increased.

 

The sudden new price regime however has worsened the already bad condition of the people and other residents as it led to the hike in transport fares both in the state capital and inter cities fares

It has further resulted in upward review of prices of commodities including food items in the markets. Many people now resort to trekking long distances before getting to their various destinations to save costs.

 

Reacting to this unhealthy situation, an Owerri-based  economic analyst, Dr Jude Ikenna Odionye observed that the present situation in the state could be seen to have been influenced by economic saboteurs and the quest to make cheap money by petroleum products marketers

He said that if the marketers could show some high level of patriotism, the situation would have been different from what it is today.

 

He called on both federal and state governments to set up monitoring units that would be made up of properly screened and tested  individuals to monitor the distribution and sale of these products

 

He said, “Agencies like the Nigerian Civil Defense Corps, the Police and other paramilitary bodies have failed Nigerians in this regard ”

 

In her own contribution, an oil marketer in  Owerri who chose not to be named, accused the federal government of the anomaly and inconsistency in the pump price of petroleum products

 

According to her, “the federal government knows what is wrong and how to remedy the situation to the benefit of government and the people it is serving”, adding that President Muhammadu Buhari had been overseeing the petroleum sector since assuming office in May 2015.

 

Meanwhile, as the fuel scarcity lingers at the Federal Capital Territory some filling stations operating within Abuja now sell at different prices of between N270 and N300, while NNPC filling station were still selling at N180 per litre.

 

With only few filling stations having petroleum products to sell, desperate motorists creates multiple fuel queues around the entrance of most filling stations in the capital city, a development that has turned most filling stations to a theatre of chaos and traffic obstructions, as motorists create double lanes in a quest to gain entrance into the filling stations, thereby, causing traffic obstruction.

 

But to restore sanity to all the roads hosting filling stations in the Territory, the Mandate Secretary, FCTA Transportation Secretariat, Abdullahi Adamu Candido  led officials of the administration on enforcement  to various filling stations  across the territory to enforce rules and order. He expressed disappointment with some of the managers of the stations who had allowed multiple fuel queues leading to chaotic traffic situations around their vicinity.

 

The Secretary and members of his team swung into action as soon as they arrived Total filling station located in Area 11, where they forced desperate motorists queuing  inappropriately to buy fuel to join the original line while those attempting to force their way into the station through the exit gate were turned back.

 

While urging the stations managers to put in place all necessary machinery that will enable them tackle the menace, he warned that the administration will not hesitate to seal off filling stations that failed to comply with the directives.

Candido further expressed concern over how the situation, which has characterized Abuja roads since the fuel scarcity crisis started, has not only affected smooth vehicular navigation across FCT roads, but also defaced the city.

 

According to him: “This operation is trying to guide all management of filling stations on how to go about the service they are doing. We are concerned about how in the course of drivers trying to fetch fuel for their vehicles, roads are blocked unnecessarily within the city and the transportation Secretariat believe that, this shouldn’t be what the city should be passing through.

 

“So in view of the fact that there are fuel shortages within the city, we intend to make sure that all filling station’s management are cautioned on the need for them to ensure that at every point of their stations, they only allow a single lane for vehicles coming to fetch fuel.

We do not want a situation where there are 2 lanes for vehicles coming to obstruct access to other vehicles that don’t have any business to do with filling stations.

 

 

He also conveyed to them the kind of punishment the Secretariat intends to serve violators of traffic rules.”The primary part of it is that, The  transportation Secretariat will seal off any filling station that go contrary to this instructions. There are other measures that can be taken but first and foremost, any station that obstruct vehicles to have access or right of way, such filling stations will be sealed and of course get further punishments before they are reopened,” he warned.

 

While speaking on how the administration intends to sustain the exercise to ensure compliance, Candido noted that  the Transportation Secretariat is collaborating with the Directorate of Road Traffic Services, DRTS, to carry out continuous monitoring of filling stations until compliance is achieved. “The Secretariat  is also going to direct its agencies like the DRTS to embark on roving monitoring to ensure that the laws being mentioned are not going to be ignored. We are going to sincerely continue with this exercise from time to time to ensure that compliance is achieved,” he added.

 

Similarly, in Plateau State, the situation has taken a new dimension as citizens woke up in the early hours of Saturday morning and discovered that a litre of fuel has increased to between N300 to N350 from N280 in the black market. Initially, though the approved price is N190 per litre but it has been difficult to  get.

 

Our correspondent who went round the city of Jos weekend discovered that about 80 to 90 percent of government owned fuel stations didn’t have the commodity. Those with products such as NNPC is not easily accessible living majority of the populace with no option than  patronize black marketers.

 

Findings also revealed that, the black market prices differ as there is no specification across the three senatorial district of Plateau.

For instance, in Jos North, Jos South, Bassa and Barkin Ladi Local Government Areas the pump price per litre in black market stood at N320 to N330 as of Saturday and Sunday.

 

While, in central and southern axis of Plateau state, a litre cost N350 per litre, most especially in Shendam, Qua’an-pan, Langtang North and South, Wase, Pankshin, Kanke and Mangu and Bokkos Local Government Areas.

 

Though, the skyrocketing prices in petroleum products is nationwide, stakeholders believed that part of reason why the situation escalated on the Plateau is because some managers of the government- owned fuel stations are compromising, hoarding the commodity and giving to the black marketers for their selfish gains.

 

Daily Champion also learned that about 90% out of 100% of fuel stations currently selling petroleum products on the Plateau are black marketers.

 

Meanwhile, the Association of Distributors and Transporters of Petroleum Products (ADITOP), said it has authorised its depot chairmen nationwide to cooperate with the Department of State Services (DSS) to resolve fuel issues in the country.

 

ADITOP said it was in support of the 48 hours ultimatum given by the DSS to stakeholders in the oil and gas industry to end the fuel queues and crises rocking the country.

President of ADITOP, Alhaji Lawan Dan-Zaki, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday that its members nationwide and marketers are ready to cooperate with the DSS to actualise their mission.

The DSS had, on December 8, issued a 48-hour ultimatum to all stakeholders in the oil industry to resolve the ongoing fuel scarcity across the country. In a meeting with the stakeholders, it warned that it would launch a nationwide operation on saboteurs if there are still queues at various filling stations in the country after the ultimatum.

 

The DSS is wading into the fuel matter following persistent scarcity and long queues, especially in the FCT, in spite of assurances by the NNPC Limited and other regulatory agencies of ensuring normalcy.

 

“We are ready to co-operate with the DSS to put an end to the fuel queues and bring normalcy to the system,” he said.

According to him, the ultimatum given by the DSS which could be attributed to an information it had, was timely because of the lingering fuel scarcity, adding that currently fuel was not in abundance.

 

“Our trucks stay up to two weeks at the depots before getting products loaded to transport to the filling stations. The more the product is available, there will be normalcy in businesses and livelihoods and we will have turnover too,” he said.

 

Stakeholders at the meeting included Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG). Others were the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), and depot operators, among others.

 

In a related development, the Nigeria Customs Service seized 33,390 litres of petrol on the Badagry waterways in Lagos State on Dec. 8.

This was disclosed on Sunday in Badagry in a statement issued by its spokesman, Mr Hussain Abdulahi.

He quoted Mr Bello Jibo, Comptroller, Customs Area Command at Seme Border Area as saying that the seizure had a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N8,808,280.

 

Jibo said with Wednesday’s seizure, the Command had seized 930,140 litres of petrol; about 28 tanker-loads of 33,000 litres each from January to date.

 

He explained that the seizures were contained in 31,000 jerry cans of 30 litres of petrol each.

“The combined DPV of the petrol stands at N167,722,751.51,’’ he said.

 

He added that the Command’s surveillance and patrols in creeks and beaches in Badagry and its environs on Wednesday led to the seizure of 1,113 jerry cans of petrol of 30 litres each, equivalent to 33,390 litres.

 

“The seizure with a DPV of N8,808,280 was made in the late hours of Wednesday, Dec.8, 2022,’’ he said.

 

Jibo described the seizure as unprecedented in the history of the Seme Command of the Nigeria Customs Service and reiterated the commitment of the officers to continue to make smuggling unattractive.

 

He stressed that the command would not succumb to blackmail by economic saboteurs who believed that they could succeed in carrying out their nefarious activities by spreading falsehood about the Command. He assured Nigerians engaged in legitimate businesses in the area of the Command’s support.

 

 

Presently, there is no scarcity of Fuel (PMS) in Ebonyi State as witnessed in most States of the country.

 

Most Filling Stations located in Abakaliki the State capital opened their offices for business at the time of Filing this report.

 

Virtually all the Stations (Independent Marketers) were selling at the rate of N240 and N250 per Litre.

 

However,  the NNPC Merger Stations located along the Enugu/Abakaliki Highway  were not open for business transactions.