Despite yesterday’s persistent lines at certain Abuja filling stations, there are signs that the nation may soon experience a severe fuel shortage.
However, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, or IPMAN, gave this hint yesterday and insisted that if the government can get the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, or NMDPRA, to pay its members N500 billion in bridging claims, the shortage could be avoided.
Speaking in Kano yesterday, Bashir Danmalam, the chairman of the IPMAN Kano state chapter, said that the industry has been impacted by the high cost of diesel and that many of its members have gone out of business as a result of the claims not being paid for the previous nine months.
As a result, he said: “The reemergence of fuel lines in Abuja is only the beginning of the petroleum shortage.”
“Only 5% of the marketers are able to supply petroleum products out of 100% because NMDPRA has not paid them.”
NNPC’s explanation for the refineries’ failure
The four refineries in the country are currently in a state of coma due to a lack of routine maintenance, according to Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director, GMD, of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, or NNPC, on Tuesday.
When Kyari appeared before the House of Representatives’ ad hoc committee looking into the condition of Nigerian refineries, he made the revelation.
We acknowledged unequivocally that improper turnaround maintenance in the past caused us to reach this point. It was clear when we took over that turnaround maintenance was not what you were dealing with.
It goes without saying that pipes are necessary even in the presence of refineries. As of the now, the Escravos pipeline that supplies Warri and eventually Kaduna refineries is unable to transport the two refineries. Vandals do this for a variety of reasons.
Regarding the fuel lines, Kyari added that the public holidays of Sallah and Workers’ Day were to blame since truck drivers failed to load goods.
But he said that 2.8 billion liters of PMS (Premium Motor Spirit) were already on hand and would last for 47 days without the need for imports.
In order to ease the lines, he continued, 150 trucks carrying fuel will arrive in Abuja on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“There are some glitches around loadout in the depots because truck drivers were unable to present trucks in most of the depots during the holidays,” he said. This has been fixed, and today all trucks loaded out to the limit.
