Fuel queues may to filling stations soon if the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited does not ramp up importation and beef up petrol supplies across the country, The PUNCH has learnt.
Top oil marketers told our correspondent on Sunday that NNPCL depots that feed private depots across the country ran out of supplies over the weekend following the mopping up of available supplies by oil marketers.
“Although we have started loading, the product is yet to go round. Besides, NNPCL depots ran out of supplies over the weekend, but we are hoping products will be available this week so that we will resume loading”, one of the marketers hinted.
The Chairman IPMAN Satellite Depot, Akin Akinrinade, who confirmed the development to our correspondent, said, “My members loaded on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. But we could not load on Saturday because NNPCL depots did not have products. I can’t confirm if new products have landed but at least, as you can see, the queues have reduced drastically, and there are more products in the country. NNPC is beginning to attend to our needs now more than it used to.”
Akinrinade had earlier told The PUNCH that NNPCL had completed repairs on its moribund products pipeline at Satellite, adding that IPMAN members on the axis would start loading products through the pipeline.
The PUNCH had last week reported dwindling fuel queues at filling stations across the country.
Our correspondent also gathered that filling stations last week defied the Federal Government’s directive to sell products at N184 per litre.
The PUNCH observed that members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, and NNPCL Retail outlets, sold products at N185 per litre to consumers. Members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria on the other hand, sold products between N200 to N250 per litre.
The National Controller Operations, IPMAN, Mike Osatuyi, told The PUNCH on Sunday, that some of its members still had old stock in their tanks.
“Some of my members bought at the old price before the Federal Government directed NNPCL to sell directly to us at N172 per litre. In fact, some of my members who had paid for the old stock just received their products, that’s why you see them still selling above N200 per litre”, he said.
Osatuyi however said IPMAN members would from this week, start loading products at N172 per litre.
He pointed out that many of the depot owners had yet to comply with FG’s directive to sell at N172 per litre to retailers.
“I can confirm to you that it is only Emadeb and NIPCO that are complying to sell at N172 per litre to us. Others are still selling at between N220 to N225 to my members”, he said.
Osatuyi however said NNPCL should be commended for its more responsive approach to resolving fuel scarcity.
“Although the product is yet to go round, however, NNPCL needs to be commended because it is now much more committed, listens to us and is doing all possible to restore normalcy in terms of products supplies”, he said, adding that what caused delay in loading for some of its members was because they had to first register officially with the NNPCL.
