- Clear fuel queues in 7 days – FG tells filling stations
- Oil prices rise as OPEC keeps to 30mln bpd
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has begun the probe of 44 depots owners and marketers of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol in the country with a view to clamp down on those who engage in profiteering. While the fuel marketers have halted fuel imports, a source at the DPR told Saturday Telegraph that some of them were selling the product, which the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has imported and dumped in their depots above N90 per litre. Investigation by Saturday Telegraph revealed that none of the depots owners sold the product below N87 per litre to filling stations as at yesterday.
A depot owner, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said some depots were selling the product for as high as N100 per litre to filling stations owners who in return are expected to sell the product at the regulated price of N87 per litre.“None of us can tell you that he is selling the product at below N87,” he said on the telephone.
He said this was buoyed by “the lack of assurance on whether this government is gamed with subsidy or not. But after today’s meeting, I can assure you that the product will get to the end users at N87 per litre. “Concerning the probe by the DPR, we consider this their routine and I assure you that we are aware that immediately after today’s meeting, the DPR, which has hitherto being rendered powerless, will add the garb of a watchdog.” Some fuel marketers have, according checks, hiked the ex-depot of products in their depots.
Most of them were selling at the ex-depot price of N110 per litre, a 42 per cent increase, compared to the official exdepot price of N77 recommended by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA). This profiteering is ongoing despite claim by oil marketers that the fuel was imported by only the NNPC as they could no longer import as a result of huge subsidy claims owed by the Federal Government. Also speaking on the issue, a source close to DPR management told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos yesterday that the organisation was only being proactive in the face of the national energy crisis. The source said the DPR was aware of the illegal activities of petroleum marketers, especially the sale of products above government approved price.
“We have received information on petrol stations selling above the pump price of N87 per litre but we do not want to commence the sealing of stations without getting the actual price from the depots. “We do not want to add to the problem of scarcity by sealing up the petrol station at this period. If you go around, you will see Nigerians carrying jerry cans looking for the products.If we start to seal petrol station without confirming the loading price from depots, we are also punishing the people as well as the marketers.
“We have commenced investigation on the loading price from the depots, when we are through with depot then we will start to work on the petrol stations selling above the price. “All the same, we have continued to warn those selling above the selling government approved price to desist from the action. Any of the station caught selling above the approved price will have its licence revoked and the stations will be sealed,” he said. But in a bid to address the recurring scarcity of petroleum products in the country, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and stakeholders in the sector yesterday gave a seven-day ultimatum to clear queues at the fuel station across the country. The stakeholders made this known in Abuja,after a meeting tagged: “Queue must go”.
The meeting that was chaired by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr. Gaye Haruna. Also in attendance were Mr. Ifeanyi Uba (Capital Oil), President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chief Obasi Lawson; Executive Secretary of Petroleum Equalisation Funds (PEF), Mrs. Asabe Ahmed; Managing Director Petroleum Pricing Marketing Company (PPMC), Mr. Haruna Momoh; Executive Secretary Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), George Osahon; Executive Secretary Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MAOMAN), Mr. Femi Olawore; Dr. David Ige of NNPC, Henry Obi (Exxonmobil) and Farouk Ahmed of PPPRA.
In his remarks, Haruna said: “We have called this meeting to see how to end the fuel queue which is becoming embarrassing to the country. Petroleum became scarce in May and there was a meeting with Senate where the marketers promised to end the queue but the queue is still there.” After the meeting, PPMC in conjunction with the marketers, both major and independent operators agreed to move products to increase the level of supply to all retail outlets nationwide with immediate effect The marketers were also directed to move 700 trucks of PMS to Abuja with immediate effect.
However, the stakeholders identified that one of the major constraint to distribution was the logjam at Apapa –Oshodi, saying: “We have over 2,000 trucks on that road waiting to take fuel at the depot.” A communiqué signed by Haruna said: “We have enough stocks that can last for the 23 days, also we agreed to set up the committee of stakeholder to monitor the loading and delivering of products nationwide.“We have also agreed that efforts will be made to clear this long before the end of June 23.
The PEF will track all the trucks from Apapa using the Aquila project to avoid diversion of the products and DPR is to ensure that products are delivered and selling price should not be more than N87 per litre.” In another development, oil prices rose yesterday, breaking a two-day losing streak, after Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) ministers kept their existing oil production target for another six months at a level below current output. The12-member group agreed on the deal at OPEC’s biannual ministerial meeting in Vienna, Austria.
Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, said the 12-member group had agreed to maintain their production target at 30 million barrels per day (bpd), saying: “OPEC had rolled over its target.” OPEC had been pumping over 31.2 million bpd in recent weeks.
Ndubuisi Ugah, Adeola Yusuf and Johnchuks Onuanyim,New Telegraph
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