Fuel scarcity worsens in Lagos - No cause for alarm - NNPC

Rasheed Komolafe, Lagos - 27.03.2008

PANIC has gripped many Lagos residents as scarcity of petroleum products worsened in the city.
Most filling stations on Wednesday witnessed long queues of motorists due to the fuel scarcity. Already,black marketers have started displaying jerrycans of petrol in major parts of Lagos Island, Ikorodu Road and Ketu.

It was gathered that the scarcity was caused by the ongoing evacuation of contaminated fuel which was imported into the country by Oando Plc, one of the major marketers of petroleum products.

The Federal Government had, in February, banned Gunvor International, a Swiss firm and a regular importer of blended petroleum products into the country.

To check its effects on the country, the government directed Oando Plc which is the major marketers involved, to withdraw the total 14,000 metric tonnes of contaminated products brought in by Gunvor.

Nigerian Tribune also gathered that the late discharge of the imported product by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to marketers caused the current scarcity of fuel.

It was further gathered that the Federal Government’s decision to bridge the supply of the product through independent marketers like NIPCO, Obat and MRS Oil and Gas Limited was said to have made major marketers to get supply of fuel directly.

An official of the Major Marketers Association of Nigeria, who spoke on condition of anonymity, decried the development.

According to him, something must urgently be done to nip in the bud the current bridging arrangement.
This, he said, was the only way to tame the scarcity.

Meanwhile, the scarcity has begun to affect activities in the state as motorists and commuters are now complaining.

Some motorists who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune said that they had to queue for hours before they could buy petrol in their vehicles.

A commercial driver, Mr. John Isah, said he slept overnight at a filling station in order to buy fuel. Meanwhile, the NNPC has urged Nigerians not to panic over the current situation in Lagos as efforts are being made towards bringing the situation to nomalcy.

A statement from the Group General Manager (Public Affairs) of the Corporation, Dr. Levi Ajuonuma, said the queues being experienced are as a result of four-day holiday observed by the tanker drivers and that the drivers had since resumed loading.

He urged Nigerians not to engage in panic buying as there are enough stock of the petroleum products.