Fuel scarcity looms as NNPC stops loading fuel

• NUPENG begins 3-day strike

Nigerians may soon be hit by another fuel scarcity crisis if the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), do not resume loading of the product, National Daily investigation has revealed.

It was also gathered that private depots are already selling the product between N138 and N140 per litre as against NNPC’s N133.

It was further revealed that marketers have decided to keep their trucks since the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) was already owing them over N200 billion for bridging the product.

Reacting to the development, Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Alhaji Abubaka Dankigari, said that if the trend continues, there will be scarcity of petrol and kerosene in the next few days. He said just as petrol was difficult to access, kerosene was not available anywhere in the country.

Dankigari noted that the foreign exchange rate is too high for his members to import products into the country, stressing that until the Federal Government completely deregulates the petrol and kerosene market, its importation will not be attractive to marketers.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers will commence its planned three-day warning strike today (Wednesday) over unresolved issues with some International Oil Companies operating in the country.

The union said it had given the federal government a 21-day ultimatum to intervene in a bid to resolve the issues.

“We have planned a national three-day warning strike commencing from January 11; it is about the activities of the IOCs, including the divestment by Chevron that affected about 250 workers and the termination of the appointment of 48 contract workers by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company in 2014 without the payment of terminal benefits,” NUPENG, South-West zone, Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo said on Tuesday

“The issues are still begging for government’s intervention. They inherited them from the past administration, but we have been discussing the issues with the present government. We now said, ‘We can no longer fold our arms and allow our members to be maltreated this way.’ If the government fails to intervene, Nigerians should not blame us for any eventuality that happens thereafter,” he added.