… Kyari Briefs Buhari, Says Normalcy Returns Soon

By Orkula Shaagee and Jude Opara, Abuja

Motorists in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and its environs of Niger and Nasarawa states are groaning over the unexpected return of long queues at filling stations, signalling scarcity of petroleum product.

The melee started Monday night when motorists, who had gone to fuel their vehicles could not do so as many stations were under lock and keys.

Subsequently, roadside traders, otherwise called black marketers, had a field day yesterday, selling the products as high as N400 and N500 per litre.

DAILY ASSET checks showed that along Airport Road, several filling stations were not dispensing the products, while black market operators besieged nearby stations selling fuel to intending buyers at high prices.

At Federal Housing Authority (FHA) junction, the fuel was sold at between N400 and N500 per litre, depending on the type of vehicle the buyer was ridding.

Long queues were also noticed along Kubwa, Keffi and Kaduna roads yesterday even as black marketers carried their jerry cans in search of the products.

An eyewitness said one of the black marketers, who had succeeded in buying about four 25 litres of jerry cans, packed them on a motorbike, but fell along the Kubwa highway, causing motorists to divert their routs in fear of fire outbreak.

A visit to some of the filling stations on the Kubwa Express Way showed that while some of the stations had the product, some shut their gates against vehicles but dispense only to black marketers.

At the AYM Shafa mega filling station, there was long queue of vehicles, even as the station’s gats were firmly locked due to unavailability of the product.

There was also long queue of vehicles at the NNPC and Gegu filling stations on the Kubwa Express Way, where few pimping machines were dispensing the product to buyers.

DAILY ASSET observed that there were also heavy presence of black market sellers in front of Gegu filling station on the Kubwa road selling at between N4,500 and N5,000 per 10 liters.

As a result, commercial vehicle operators have increased transports fares by 50 per cent, causing commuters to trek long distances to their destinations.

A journey from Dutse Alhaji and Makaranta to Julius Berger junction that normally cot N200, had gone up to N300, while passengers now pay between N400 and N500 for a trip to Bwari from Berger, instead of N300 hitherto charged.

Transport fares from Qwaqwalada to Berger and Area one, which was N300 before, jumped to N500  just as Lugbe to Area 10, Area 1 and Berger hitherto N200, was increased to N300 and N400..

Some of the black marketers, who resurface after about two years or more, told DAILY ASSET that it was opportunity for them since they had no tangible hand wok than petty trading.

“I can make up to N3,000 naira each day if I can sell up to four or five 10 litres, but peole are not buying as before because the price is high.

“ When you tell a customer to pay N400 per litre, he looks the other way and drive away his car and we are not picking this fuel at pump price, we have tip the sellers before they can give us”, one sellers who called his name Musa, said.

GMD Briefs Buhari, Promise Normalcy in Hours

Meanwhile, the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, has frowned at the re-emergence of petrol queue across the country, assuring that the situation will normalize in hours.

Kyari gave the assurance when he addressed State House correspondents after giving an update on the petroleum sector to President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja, yesterday.

He attributed the sudden re-emergence of the fuel queue to strike embarked upon by the association of petrol tankers drivers.

The GMD, however, revealed that following the intervention of the leadership of the NNPC, the strike had been suspended for one week and the tanker drivers had resumed lifting of petroleum products from all fuel depots across the country.

 “These queues will go away. It’s because there was an industrial action by petroleum tanker drivers against their employers, the National Association of Road Transport Owners, around their compensation package.

“And those issues were not resolved up till yesterday, until we intervened to ensure that there’s an amicable settlement between the parties so that they will have peace and then normal loading operations will commence from the depots.

“As I speak to you at this moment, loading has commenced in all depots in the country, dispatches of trucks are ongoing in all the depots in the country and they have called off the strike for a period of one week to enable us intervene and find a solution.

“So, there’s really nothing fundamental that is happening now.”

Kyari further stated that the petrol queues had nothing to do with the ongoing issue of petroleum subsidy.

“Subsidy is a policy matter. I’m sure you’re aware of this. There are engagements going on within the government to get the best framework for having a fully deregulated PMS market.

“As this is going on, we are engaging all parties and all stakeholders as government and to make sure that at the end of the day, there’s an exit that is beneficial to the ordinary man.

“That is why we know we will not be able to complete that in the month of May and therefore, we declared that there will be no increase in fuel price.

“I have no update in hand now. This is beyond me, but we’re engaging to make sure that we have the right timeline,” he added.

On the impact of the rising crude oil price on the corporation, the GMD said it has both benefits and drawbacks.

“You know, it works both ways. Once prices increase, your revenue also increases.

“So, I don’t have any numbers around it, but I also know that your obligation to the price of petroleum increases and your net revenue also increases.

“There’s a balancing factor. I don’t think there’s anything much to worry about,” he said.

Just a few weeks after the country experienced a fuel shortage that affected most cities across the country, residents of Abuja the nation’s capital woke up on Tuesday to notice long queues of vehicles that were stranded at filling stations.

In fact, the rumour had started last Friday which saw many motorists dashing into filling stations to purchase fuel for both their vehicles and the domestic use. But somehow, the issue abated over the weekend and even by Monday morning, there was no sign of any impending scarcity but the queues starting building Monday evening where most of the filling stations including those that had products decided to shut down, leaving their customers stranded.

As of Monday night, no fuel station sold petrol to motorists along the Airport Road and in fact, as most of them effectively closed their barricade without any explanation to the bewildered motorists.

However, investigation by DAILY ASSET revealed that the development was actually triggered by the strike action earlier announced by Petrol Tanker Drivers.

Apparently, in anticipation of effects of the proposed strike action, the petrol stations decided to stop selling not minding the untold hardship their action caused innocent Nigerians.

However most of the filling stations claimed they had ran out of products and it became curious how all of a sudden every petrol station ran out of product at the same time. Interestingly, even the NNPC station at the same Airport road was also under lock and keys with nobody on hand to offer any explanation to the motorists that had stopped hoping theirs would be somehow different.

 No to Fuel Price Hike—APC

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has said it does support the fuel pump increase because the time for it is not ripe. National Caretaker Committee Secretary of the party, Sen. John Akpanudoedehe told newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday that because President Buhari is man who listening ears, he accepted the suggestion of the party on the issue.

“Another thing we have achieved which is recently is the issue in the pump price of petroleum. The party said no to it even though they have discussed it. It doesn’t matter the circumstances. The party says the time is not ripe. That is the position of the party. And they listened to us.”

Akpanudoedehe further said the party does not like to see Nigerians suffering adding that it was fpor that reason that the government is doing everything to make sure that the ebergy croisis becomes a thing of the past.

According to him, the government has granted operating licenses to about six modular refineries to begin operation, insisting that all was geared towards making the petroleum product more available to Nigerians.

 … It’s Panic Buying —NNPC

But in its reaction to the latest scarcity, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said it will not increase the ex- depot price of petrol in May.

Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari who made this known at the end of a closed door meeting with Petroleum Transport Drivers (PTD), National Association of Road Transporters Owners (NARTO) and oil marketers in Abuja on Monday said Nigerians should not panic because there are enough products to service their daily demands.

“We want to inform oil marketing companies that NNPC will not increase the pump price of PMS in May,” the NNPC said.

“I am giving the assurance and I ask Nigerians to go about their normal businesses; we have over 20 billion litres of petrol in our custody. Many of you are aware of this and with the assurance with tanker drivers and NUPENG, there is no need for panic buying of the product.

“Petrol will be available in all the depots in the country including NNPC dispatched depot across the country, so nobody should panic in buying the product,” he said.

The Ex-depot price is the price marketers buy products from depot owners. It also determines the pump price at filling stations.