The ongoing fuel scarcity nationwide may continue till June 2023. This is according to oil marketers, who stated that the fuel supply crisis in many parts of the country is responsible for the challenge.
BizWatch Nigeria understands that Nigeria’s downstream oil sector has since last year been grappling with cases of incessant petrol scarcity. Although, the sole importer of the commodity – Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), has repeatedly complained of the enormous burden of shouldering fuel subsidy for the country.
However, talking about the prolonged fuel scarcity challenge, Chief Ukadike Chinedu, the National Public Relations Officer of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), lamented the issues in the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry, saying the fuel imports and subsidy were making Nigerians suffer.
His words: “This issue of subsidy and the importation of petroleum products are the major reasons why we are suffering like this and having an epileptic supply of PMS. This may drag till the current administration leaves in May or till June this year.
“The exchange rate is affecting fuel imports, which is also why the cost of petroleum products is high. We use too much naira to chase the few dollars that are available. So the solution is for us to refine our crude here and get our depots working.
“Also, we should note that most times when an administration is leaving, there is usually a scarcity of products. It happened during the time of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
“This is because suppliers will be very weary of selling petroleum products so that their debts will not be carried over to the next administration. Successive governments have suffered this epileptic distribution of petroleum products during the transition to a new government.
“The government is winding up, and if you are a supplier you have to be careful in terms of supplying petroleum products. Remember that when Jonathan was there, marketers who were supplying products stopped and went on strike, demanding that they must be paid their arrears.”
