A fresh scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, has hit states across the Federation, grounding many economic activities. Oil marketers have blamed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, the major oil supplier in the country, for the supply challenge.
According to the National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, the scarcity is due to a supply challenge from NNPC. He made this known on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief breakfast programme on Monday.
The scarcity has led to long queues at filling stations nationwide, with some motorists lucky to get fuel at some retail outlets for between N700 and N1,200 per litre after hours of waiting. Others weren’t so lucky, as many retail outlets were shut due to the supply challenge.
Black marketers have taken advantage of the situation, selling petrol for as high as N2,000 per litre in some states. The shortage has also worsened traffic situations in states like Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kano, and Benue, as long queues spill onto major roads, hindering vehicular movement.
Despite NNPC’s assurance that the prices of petroleum products won’t change and that there is sufficient product in the country, PETROAN boss Billy Gillis-Harry said the supply challenge has not been resolved. He acknowledged efforts by NNPC to solve the problem but stated that oil marketers need petroleum products delivered to them to serve the public.
Recall that the removal of subsidy on petrol by President Bola Tinubu last May had inflicted untold hardship on Nigerians, with prices of basic commodities going through the roof. The government introduced palliatives as interim interventions and encouraged citizens to endure the pain of the moment.
On Sunday, President Tinubu defended his action again at the World Economic Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he said that the decision to remove the petrol subsidy was necessary to prevent the country from going bankrupt.