Why #FuelScarcity May Linger & Possible Way Out – Mayowa Adeleye
Dec 27, 2017: Fuel scarcity crisis may linger further across Nigeria amid irregular and inadequate gasoline supply due to several foreseen and unforeseen factors.
These factors ranging from price modulation theory of Kachikwu, subsidy payment removal with fixed regulated pump pricing system, forex disparity, sell or not to sell of obsolete NNPC refineries, refusal of oil marketers to import fuel due to landing cost estimate of > N165/Liter.
As far as am concern, the visit of Vice President Osinbajo to Lagos filling station can be liken to drop in the ocean.
Osinbajo should be siting on round table with the major petrol importers by now to listen to their side of story and know precisely why they jettisoned fuel importation and come up with what government can do to reinforce their confidence in bringing in more imported fuel cargoes.
As at today, Nigeria’s only hope now is IMPORTED petrol with little or no supply from any of the semi-Comatose NNPC Oil Refineries.
The BLAME GAME and finger pointing accusations between Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Oil Marketers and the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association, DAPPMA will only make the current fuel scarcity worse!
Many of the oil marketers Farm Tank depots are empty of petroleum products, thus Nigerians suffered on fuel queues at filling stations across the country.
If the FGN wants to have NNPC being the state-owned oil corporation as 100% sole importer of petroleum products in Nigeria, then NNPC must be ready to build TANK FARMS across several seaports in Nigeria.
Currently, DAPPMA members owned 80 per cent of the functional fuel storage farmtank facilities and retail outlets in Nigeria.
Government wants to be regulator and operator in the downstream sector and the idea of regulated pricing in a deregulated sector will continue to erode private investors’ confidence in government policies for the downstream sector.
It’s on record that time NNPC assumes the role of sole fuel importer, there are issues of cargo supplies, storage problems in farm tanks, distribution, because it is private oil marketers who own 80 per cent of the functional receptive farm tank facilities and retail outlets in Nigeria.
Federal Government through Central Bank Of Nigeria needs to approve concession to the private fuel importers to access foreign exchange to import petrol at an official rate of N305 to the dollar.
Nigerians consume over 1.2billion litres of petrol monthly which translate to about 40 million litres of PMS supply per day ( ~ 1000 trucks per day that Nigerians consumes
Since Government has no plan to increase pump price of petrol above N145 per litre and no plan to pay subsidy on imported fuel, NNPC could remain sole importer for many months to come to maintain fixed pump price not exceeding the N145 per litre capped by the government.
This is not the time to play the blame game!