In a swift reaction to Sunday’s warning by the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) of an impending acute shortage of products, a source at the Presidency told our correspondent that an inquiry has been launched into the allegation as part of efforts to nip the fuel scarcity in the bud.
**Daily Independent** learnt that the Presidency, is looking into the allegation that the Federal Government is owing its members N120 billion debts under the subsidy support fund.
Executive Secretary of MOMAN, Thomas Olawore, had explained that N20 billion of the debt is an accumulated interest on foreign exchange incurred on bringing fuel into the country between third and fourth quarter of last year.
The source explained also that “contacts have been made with the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulating Agency (PPPRA), Reginald Stanley over this issues and he and heads of other agencies involved in the importation have been directed to act fast to avoid this so called looming fuel scarcity.”
The government, he said, “feels strongly that any fuel scarcity at this time will be so injurious to the political stability of the country and it won’t allow it now or any other time.”
Meanwhile, MOMAN insisted that other depots in Nigeria would also dry up by middle of February if nothing is done to facilitate fuel allocation to marketers.
Olawore, in a press conference in Lagos, regretted that the delay in the payment of subsidy, adding that it has exposed his members to high interest fees from banks.
“We ended 2013 on a very tall hope. He brought in products and were promised that payment would be made by the PPPRA. We continued bringing the products but we were told our payment is being processed and would soon be paid.’’
Olawore added that the situation is worsened by the fact that his members and other marketers in the country have not received products allocation from the Federal Government for the first quarter of this year.
According to him, the nation may witness another round of fuel scarcity if nothing is urgently done to get product allocation to marketers in the country.
He said already, two major oil marketers have no stock of fuel.
‘’We appeal to the Federal government to urgently products allocation to marketers in the country.
“The appeal is not only urgent but also founded on the fact that if stocks are not improved,marketers would be forced to rely solely on Petroleum Products Marketing Company(PPMC) and this will spell a major disaster for the country,’’ he stressed.
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