The Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC Limited has attributed the current fuel scarcity in some parts of the country to ‘price war’ among the marketers of the product.
Fuel queues have surfaced in places like Abuja, Nasarrawa, Niger, some South South and southeast states in recent days leading to long queues by motorists.
Marketers under the aegis of PENGASAN and IPMAN have blamed the problem on the inadequate supply by NNPCL, the sole importer of the product in the country.
According to the the National Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chief Ukadike Chinedu, some depot owners have also capitalised on the problem in the supply chains to increase their price, while NNPCL promise to discharge some vessels of PMS at Warri, Lagos and Calabar, to ameliorate the scarcity has failed.
He said, “The queues have continued because there is an insufficient supply of products. If we have enough products, it will bring down these acts of profiteering among marketers.
“It is when the products become very difficult to access that is when you start to see cases of profiteering. But if everywhere is littered with products, you won’t experience what we are seeing now.
“In Port Harcourt, for instance, our tickets have been tied down. For the past three weeks, we have not been able to load products, leading to queues at the few stations that have products. But the government, which is actually represented in this business by NNPCL, keeps saying that it is expecting stock.”
Reacting, Olufemi Soneye, NNPC spokesperson said the price difference is responsible for the long queues being experienced in some parts of the country.
He explained that motorists prefer to buy petrol at designated NNPCL fuel stations where the pump price is cheaper, instead of buying from independent marketers.
Soneye said, “The recent tightness in Abuja is essentially a price war, which is typical of any competitive market. Motorists would rather queue at filling stations that offer lower prices than others.
“While NNPC retail is selling at N613/litre in Abuja, other marketers’ prices range from N625-N650/litre,” Soneye stated.”
