The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to step up import of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol to avert another round of scarcity.
The call is coming as motorists in Lagos at the weekend began to queue to buy petrol, signalling emergence of scarcity of the product.
Mike Osatuyi, national controller of the association told Leadership on telephone that the fuel situation has been fragile since the NNPC is the sole importer of the product.
“There is supply gap over a period of time now, the NNPC imports 78 percent of the petrol need of the country. I can only say you should tell them to improve on the import.
They do the SWAP deal and therefore they are not constrained by FOREX challenge, but for marketers it is difficult to source the Dollar and therefore not profitable to import under present condition”, he said.
On whether the marketers have products, Osatuyi said, “if we have we will sell. If you observe any scarcity now it means the supply has really gone down but let us watch the situation up to this weekend and then we will know how to react to it, but NNPC should take up the responsibility to beef supply”.
Meanwhile, Leadership correspondent observed that some filling stations within the metropolis are experiencing difficulty dealing with queues that have started building up.
Some of them have actually run out of stock. For instance, Mobil filling station at Maryland as at yesterday afternoon shut down the pumps and barricaded the entrance and exit point at the station.
Adjacent Mobil is Oando which was now dealing with large number of motorists struggling to buy the product.
The queue was also much visible at Total outlet by Sheraton hotel Ikeja.
At MRS, Ikeja attendants sold product in the morning but later shut down in the day.
Attendants at some of the stations visited by our reporter could not offer any credible explanation as to the reason for the shut down.
Transport fare have remained the same but traffic along the affected axis were a little serious.
Meanwhile, thirty vessels with petroleum products, food items and other goods are expected to arrive Apapa and Tin-Can Island Ports in Lagos to boost supply across the country.
The delivery of the products are expected between this week up to February 24.
According to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) publication `Shipping Position’, the expected ships contained buck wheat, bulk salt, containers, steel products, gypsum, Rubber Tyred Gantry (GTR) cranes, base oil, petrol, kerosene and diesel.
The document noted that nine other ships had arrived the ports, waiting to berth with petrol and containers.
Also, 16 other ships are at the ports discharging buck wheat, general cargoes, soda ash, bulk rice, buthane, containers, base oil and petrol.