Fuel scarcity cripples Christmas celebrations in Abuja

…Black marketers take over the streets
Chronic fuel scarcity has crippled economic activities and has become a source of frustration for travellers and holiday makers.

A tour around Abuja metropolis and adjoining States showed that most filling stations do not have the essential commodity while those who have, are infested with an uncontrollable crowd of buyers.

Recreation centres, amusement parks and tourist centres which usually bubble with activities during such periods are empty.

The streets are dry of vehicles and travellers as most vehicles and motorcycles are parked in an endless queue at the filling stations.

It was observed that some of the Major marketers in the city of Abuja have petroleum products but are selling with a few dispensing pumps to a crowd of motorists. It was also observed that most of the independent marketers do not have the product.

The National Secretary of Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria (IPMAN) Zarma Mustapha in a telephone said that the present cost of the product at the depot is above the recommended price hence Independent marketers sell at a loss if they load the product as they cannot sell above the official price of N145 per litre.

Mustapha said: “The depot price of the product is N145 to N147 and there is a bridging cost which Petroleum Equalization Fund pay after a while.

“We cannot buy at this price and be expected to sell at N145 per litre because we are also in the business to make profit.

“It is very obvious that the pricing template is no longer sustainable and need to be reviewed” Mustapha said.

According to him, NNPC is the sole importer of the product for now and sell majorly to the NNPC retail outlet and the major marketers.

He added that IPMAN is in the majority when it comes to outlet and if products are not made available to their members at the depot price of N133 per litre, the fuel scarcity cannot come to an end.

One of the managers in IPMAN filling Station in Abuja said that the product is not available but government has shied away from accepting its failure but rather they claim that the scarcity is as a result of panic buying and refusal of the marketers to sell the product.

He said, “If they are claiming that Marketers are hoarding the products, then why don’t DPR which is an agency of government ensure compliance and even seal off any station that is not confirming.

“The truth is that the product is unavailable. Marketers want to sell as many volumes as possible but government must be sincere with the people. Let them come out clean and tell the people the true position.

“A situation where government will pass the blame to the marketers and stir bad blood between the marketers and the public is unacceptable” he stated.

Following the scarcity of petrol which had been describes as the life wire of all activities, prizes of commercial transportation and cost of goods have tripled.

One of the illegal marketers of Petrol popularly known as black marketers has disclosed that they get the product from the filling stations in the night.

According to Kabiru Yusuf, the pump attendants sell to them in Jerry cans in the night but they pay a token.

He said that the attendants and even their supervisors prefer to sell to them than to motorists since they make extra money selling to Jerry cans while motorists will not agree to pay anything above the pump price.

He equally disclosed that they also buy from motorcycle drivers including escort bike driven by security officers.

Myke Uzendu, Abuja