Tunji Oyebanji, the former chairman of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), has blamed the lingering Abuja fuel scarcity on the alarming diesel costs in the country.
BizWatch Nigeria understands that the Abuja fuel scarcity started in 2021 when the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government disclosed its plan to stop the payment of subsidies on petroleum products.
The scarcity extended to this year (2022), as a high quantity of methanol was discovered in imported fuel. However, even after the contaminated fuel had been contained, the Abuja fuel scarcity continues to linger.
Giving reasons to why it is so, Oyebanji explained that since the trucks used in transporting petrol uses diesel, which is presently on the high side, to make delivery of petroleum products has become more expensive.
According to him, although diesel is an unregulated commodity unlike petrol, marketers would prefer to deliver where they would make profits.
He also stated that truck drivers prefer to load diesel than petrol considering the high amount they would sell it.
“The transporters are no longer putting all their trucks on the road again. They will prefer to ignore the person who will sell at N165, and go to another person who sells at N200 because they have added that higher cost of diesel. So, because NNPC is the one bearing all the brunt and bringing the product, they have just enough to make sure the price remains at N165. And then, some of those products cross the borders. Don’t forget, as I have said, because the price of crude is $120, the price of refined products has gone up. That means for all our neighbouring countries that don’t have regulated prices like ours, the price has gone up there too. So, the margin you can make if you manage to carry 50-100 litres across the border to Benin, Coutonou, Niger, Cameroun is high. You can buy at N165/litre here and sell at N400/litre there.
“The profit you make there is enough to eat. So, everybody gets involved in the business. The NNPC is bringing just enough to keep balance. So, the market is experiencing what we call uneasy calm. The price doesn’t reflect the market. That is why you don’t get enough trucks to go to Abuja because the enforcement of N165 is very strong in those places. But if it is to go to Maiduguri and other states where price control is low, you will have no problem finding trucks because prices will reflect the market there,” he added.
