Fuel Scarcity Hits Harder

From vanguard newspaper. Fuel scarcity in Nigeria has continued to bite harder as air passengers are stranded at the Lagos and Abuja international airports while motorists and users of the premium motor spirit across the country have had to contend with long queues at the few stations that occasionally sold the product.

According to the numerous reports residents were also experiencing awry situation because of their inability to buy petrol to run electricity generating sets to light up their homes due to the worsening public electricity supply across the country.

Vanguard reports that hundreds of air passengers may be stranded at the various airports across the country as Nigeria major airline, Arik Air, plans to suspend flight operations due to the lingering aviation fuel scarcity in the country. Arik Air controls about sixty percent of the Nigerian aviation market. The Managing Director, Arik Air, Mr Chris Ndulue made this disclosure yesterday at the airline corporate headquarters while addressing aviation reporters.
He said the airline has been operating 20% of its daily flights schedule due to scarcity of aviation fuel, particularly in Lagos, its major hub. The airline operates about 120 flights on its domestic routes daily.

Furthermore, the situation had occasioned black marketing and illegal dealings in petroleum products. A lot of importers and dealers of petrol have refused to supply fuel stations because the government of President Goodluck Jonathan owes them more than $1 billion in subsidy money.

PremiumTimes informed that The Department of Petroleum Resources has attributed the fuel queues in Abuja and environs to a slight drop in the lifting of oil by marketers from Suleja Depot.

A senior official of DPR, who preferred anonymity said on Tuesday in Abuja that the general elections also contributed to the prevailing queue in the city.
He said:b “During the election on Saturday and Sunday, there was no lifting of fuel at the depot and that will naturally affect its distribution in Abuja and its environs.This is a factor for the little queue you see around within the city; however, there is hope that the situation will improve as from Tuesday. The reason is that it is expected that lifting of fuel would have resumed on Monday.”

The source also attributed the queue to panic buyin​g​. They said the quantity of fuel available was still enough to serve motorists in the FCT.Ade Abolurin, the Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, said that in line with the Corps’ mandate in curtailing the activities of illegal dealers on petroleum products, have directed the Anti-Vandal Squad of the Corps to clamp down on illegal marketers of petroleum products, product diversion, unnecessary hike in pump prices and black marketers.

On Saturday in Abuja Abolurin stated that the persistent scarcity of the product gives room for the citizens to cast aspersion on the Government as if it is not sensitive to the plight of the common man.

He has directed that for the purpose of the benefits and dividends of democracy, all miscreants and those involved in hoarding of the product thereby causing artificial scarcity in order to sell at exorbitant prices should be arrested and prosecuted accordingly.

In a statement he urged that the clampdown will bring about sanity and availability of product at the various stations for legal sales to buyers at ease instead of selling to those that are likely to hoard the product in order to sell at inflated prices to desperate buyers.

Consequently,  last weekend fuel price rose to an all time high of N300 per litre in the black market and N200 in a few fuel stations that had the product.

As a result, transport fares and prices of essential goods went up astronomically beyond the reach of the average Nigerian worker, who incidentally marked the Workers’ day last Friday.

For example, transport fare from Ojodu/ Berger to Mowe went up from N100 to between N250 and N300. It was also the same in various part of the metropolis.

Commercial motorcyclists also raised their fares to between N200 and N400 for routes where they normally collect between N100 and N150.