KEEPING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

Abiodun Fakale argues that the nationwide fuel scarcity is due to logistics problem

The hydra-monster of endless queues at petrol stations reared its ugly head recently, months after it was banished by the Bola Tinubu government and the management of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, led by Mele Kyari. Expectedly, tempers rose as commuters waited for hours to board buses to their various destinations, and motorists lamented at the productive man hour wasted at the filling stations.

Amidst this ensuing fuel scarcity that has become the most topical issue on the national frontburner, it is imperative to put the challenges being faced in right perspectives. Contrary to the fake news being sponsored and peddled by economic saboteurs who were displaced from the fraudulent petrol subsidy scheme that the nation has run dry of petroleum products, particularly petrol, there is actually stock to the tune of 1.547 billion litres that can last another 30 days.

The main challenge is the logistics, primarily caused by middlemen who are lifting petrol from various NNPCL’s depots nationwide. The logistics crisis, partially contrived by unscrupulous stakeholders in the sector, is to create a situation for arbitrage, where they can mercilessly profiteer and take advantage of helpless Nigerians. In economics and finance, arbitrage is the practice of taking advantage of a difference in prices in two or more markets – striking a combination of matching deals to capitalise on the difference, the profit being the difference between the market prices at which the unit is traded, according to Wikipedia.

The crave for inordinate profiteering as explained necessitated product diversion, hoarding and other sharp practices by petrol marketers and other unpatriotic Nigerians. By hoarding the product, people panic, thereby struggling to engage in panic buying and also store up petrol in jerry cans in anticipation for a full-blown scarcity that would never be.

Meanwhile, there is a need for Nigerians to collectively rise against these unscrupulous elements who are bent on scuttling the gains of reforms in the petroleum sector, and force us back to the heinous days of an unsubstantiated subsidy regime that almost wrecked the nation. The National Assembly, particularly the standing committees that oversee the midstream and downstream sector of the petroleum industry, including agencies regulating the sector have spoken up on the issue and assured Nigerians that the queues will disappear in a matter of days. They have intensified their monitoring of supply of petrol loaded at depots to ensure they are not diverted. The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), formerly known as the Department for Petroleum Resources (DPR), security agencies are also checking and sanctioning petrol stations that are taking advantage of the challenge by selling above prescribed limits of the NNPCL. The rumour of possible increase in the price of petroleum products as being speculated is largely unfounded. Nothing indicates that there could be a hike in pump price of petrol, even now that the fiscal and monetary policies and other interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the management team of the nation’s economy have strengthened the Naira against the Dollar in the Forex market. Moreso, the local refinery capacity is being revved up, and Dangote refinery has demonstrated capacity to provide substantial supply as local refineries get set for production.

Buttressing the position of the petroleum sector regulators, the House of Representatives Committees on Petroleum Resources (Downstream and Midstream) on Wednesday assured that supply disruption was being addressed and that normalcy will return in a few days. The Chairmen of the two committees, Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere and Hon. Odianosen Henry Okojie, reiterated that there is availability of petrol products in NNPCL storage facilities, about 1.5 billion litres of petrol that can last for 30 days.

Hon. Ugochinyere who represents Ideato North South Federal Constituency of Imo State, stated that in the last few days the House committees on downstream and midstream committees reached out to the stakeholders in the distribution value chain; the NNPCL, NMDPRA, Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), and the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and engaged extensively with them, with a view to ascertaining the cause of the resurgence of the fuel queues across the country.

While empathising with Nigerians on the pains and difficulty in getting petroleum products, he noted that it is as a result of logistics that the queues have resurfaced. These issues range from difficulty in transporting products from the mother vessel to the respective petrol stations. According to him, assurances have been given by the regulators in the value chain that these bottlenecks would be cleared soonest.

He also assured that the committees which oversights activities in the downstream and midstream petroleum sectors, have resolved that going forward and in order to avert the re-occurrence of this temporary challenge of distribution disruption, they shall work with the NNPCL, NMDPRA, PETROAN, NARTO and other key stakeholders in the distribution chain, towards finding a sustainable solution to the problem.

His words, “…As of today, the reports we are getting suggest that the fuels queues have started disappearing and products have started arriving at the petrol stations. We urge Nigerians not to engage in panic buying, nor be enmeshed in unnecessary rush to buy products. As a country we have a storage of over 1.5 billion litres which can last us for over 30 days. More products are arriving and more products are on the high sea. The only challenge that caused this disruption was the logistics issue that had to with the marine shuttle vessels, which was to move products to marketers, who are on standby waiting to serve the people. The logistics issues have now been resolved.”

 Fakale writes from Abeokuta, Ogun State