Nationwide fuel scarcity looms as marketers groan over importation

Nigerians may be thrown into a fresh round of acute fuel shortage, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) said on Thursday declaring that this would be triggered by refusal of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) in releasing the approval for the first quarter fuel importation.

MOMAN said this through its Executive Secretary Obafemi Olawore in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Members of the association, Olawore said, were now on the edge over the inability of the PPPRA to release the importation approval.

“If we don’t get approval on time, it will affect our ability to import products and this will in turn delay distribution of products nationwide.

“The management of PPPRA should release allocations immediately to avoid products scarcity in the country,” he said.

Olawore expressed worry that no marketer had been given allocation approval this quarter.

According to him, the country has limited products in stock and the relevant authorities must do something “because a stitch in time saves nine”.

An independent marketer, who pleaded anonymity, also lamented that the nation might be on its way to experiencing acute shortage of fuel, following the inability of government to place order for first quarter importation allocation.

The independent marketer said: “Available stocks are depleting on daily basis.

“If drastic actions are not taken to import fuel, the nation will likely witness severe fuel shortage.”

A leading marketer, who also spoke on the issue, told NAN that acute fuel scarcity might hit the nation soon.

The marketer said: “We are ending one month into this quarter but nothing seems to be happening.

“The implication is that Nigeria may be on course to facing fresh rounds of fuel scarcity crisis.

“Supply vessels are off-shore attracting demurrage and there is no inkling on when the approval for importation of products will be given by the PPPRA.

“The downstream is currently on edge and anxiety is mounting among fuel marketers because of the non-release of the approval for first quarter importation.”

Speaking on the development, Chris Igwe, the Managing Director, Mainland Oil and Gas Limited, said that the delay in releasing importation approval might not be unconnected with the insistence of the PPPRA to follow due process.

Igwe said: “The Executive Secretary of the PPPRA, Mr. Reginald Stanley, is a man of integrity and a man who follows due process.

“What happened is that some of the lay cans given to marketers are still on till January and you know they will need to appraise the performance of each marketer before giving new allocations.

“For instance, if any marketer fails to perform for the previous quarter, it will affect your next quarter.

“It is also the same way, if your performance is good you stand the chance of getting more.

“So, you can see that what drives PPPRA is performance.

“There is nothing unusual about the delay in quarter allocation.

“It will soon be out as and when due.”

The executive secretary of the PPPRA could, however, not be reached for comments on the development.

He did not respond to phone calls and text messages.

Oil-producing Nigeria has often faced crippling fuel scarcity but the problem has apparently been checked by the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Nigerians did not experience fuel scarcity during the just-concluded Christmas and New Year festivities.