Fuel Scarcity Shakens Lagos

Long line Over fuel Scarcity At Mobil Filling Station, Ogba

Major cities across the country experienced severe fuel shortage over the weekend as motorists formed long queues at the few filling stations with fuel.

In Lagos, motorists were seen queuing to buy fuel at  Ogba, Ikeja, Berger, Ikotun, Akute among other placs withing the metropolis.

However, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation blamed the shortage on the continued closure of a vandalised NNPC System 2B pipeline at Arepo, Ogun State.

In an interview with our correspondent on Sunday, the NNPC spokesman, Mr. Fidel Pepple, said the closure of the Arepo line was a major setback for the corporation.

Pepple said, “The solution to the problem lies in us putting the line on stream. And now, we are unlikely to resolve that as soon as possible because security must be guaranteed at Arepo before repair works could be completed.

 “We have product, but we can’t continue to pump through the bad line and have product wasted.”

Repair works at the vandalised pipeline were stopped last week after suspected vandals killed three NNPC engineers at the site.

Our correspondent gathered that the shortage might grow worse in the course of the week.

The President, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, South-West branch, Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo, told our source that loading of products at Lagos depots had dropped by over 70 per cent.

He said, “The situation is not improving at all; it has rather worsened. A depot that can serve about 200 trucks per day, now serves between 40 and 50. Last week it was between 70 and 90.

“Now, marketers are not willing to incur any extra costs. They don’t want to transport products to places outside their depot areas. Right now they are not going to the far east, north or south-south.”

“Government should do the right thing now. Most of these marketers have investments in Nigeria, and can’t just run away like that. So, government should engage them so that we can address this problem.”

About N200bn is currently being owed the oil marketers by the Federal Government.

Also speaking to our correspondent, the Chairman, Independent petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (Western Zone), Mr. Olumide Ogunmade, said the association’s members were also having challenges loading products.

He said the pipeline explosion at Arepo had compounded the problem as most of its members that were loading from Ogun State had been referred to Apapa.

“This is affecting the movement of product. Our members are now loading from Apapa. But the process is slow. We however believe it will stabilise soon,” Ogunmade said.

In a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, the Acting General Secretary of National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, Mr. Isaac Aberare, said the Minister of Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of the NNPC should be held responsible for the resurfacing of fuel queues in the country.

“The Secretary, Petroleum Tanker Drivers Unit of NUPENG in Abuja just spoke on television that there is no strike. If the fuel scarcity in Abuja persists, then the Minister of Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of NNPC should give an explanation,” Aberare said.



Source: Punch