By Matthew Tabe
Stakeholders in the petroleum downstream sector may have to go back to the drawing board as the recent intervention by the Department of State Services (DSS) has disrupted market trends that has seen the pump price of Petroleum Motor Spirit steadily rise above the official price of N179 per litre.
It was learnt that economic sabotage by marketers is what led the DSS to make an unprecedented intervention in the supply chain of PMS and getting the commitment of several outlets to sell round the clock.
The product is heavily subsidized and the federal government has budgeted more than N3trn for subsidy payments in the 2023 budget. Oil marketers are however still insisting they bear a significant part of the costs in selling PMS at a subsidized rate.
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has for months being warning of an imminent increase in the price of PMS and has also faced accusations of hoarding the product to force the increase.
National Operations Controller of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mike Osatuyi, had recently claimed there has been an increase in depot prices from N165 per litre to N177 and N178 in Lagos, and subsequently, in other parts of the country.
Dismissing accusation of hoarding, marketers have also claimed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company doesn’t have enough stock at hand, which is largely responsible for the scarcity being experienced in most parts of the country.
But the lingering fuel scarcity has been linked to economic sabotage on the part of some major oil stakeholders.
This is despite the confirmation by the NNPC on Friday that they have about 1.9 billion litres of fuel at the depot currently.
Highly placed security sources, who spoke to us about the situation, said the problem is actually from the depot down to the marketers and even the fuel stations.
The understanding reached between some marketers and the head of Nigeria’s secret police may hinder the resolve of the marketers to forge a common front and make their preferred price the new normal.
The sources explained a situation where some marketers are made to buy fuel at different prices from the original ex-depot prizes and this has led to the difference in pump prices of fuel across the country.
The sources also said another act of economic sabotage is when fuel stations hoard the products and sell secretly to black marketers, who buy at higher prices thereby creating economic problems for motorists, who queue for hours just to get fuel.
All these may have prompted the directive by the Department of State Services (DSS) to oil marketers on Friday that fuel scarcity must end in 48 hours.
The DSS also warned that it will raid all fuel stations and quiz any marketer hoarding fuel, which has led to the lingering fuel scarcity across the country.
This is the outcome of a meeting between the Department of State Services and the NNPC limited, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and other major stakeholders in the oil industry.
This is just as IPMAN has threatened to shut down fillings stations across its jurisdictions if the federal government failed to address their various challenges affecting day to day business activities of their members.
Addressing journalists at the IPMAN House, Ibadan, Oyo State, after the general meeting of the association, Alhaji Bukola Mutiu, chairman, IPMAN, Ibadan Depot which covers the entire Oyo, Osun and some parts of Kwara and Ondo States, stressed the need for the federal government to address all issues affecting members of the association to avert total closure of filling stations by their members.
Bukola said, “At the meeting that we had this morning, we’ve concluded on some certain issues, we are tired of federal government through NNPC, PPMC because they denied us of our rights, as registered marketers under PPMC, NNPC Ibadan depot.”
The DSS said this was necessary because the Service cannot sit back and watch the current scarcity of fuel despite the obvious availability of the product, which could lead to economic sabotage and threat to the nation.
The DSS however got commitment from several outlets in the Federal Capital Territory to stay open for 24 hours and sell PMS to motorists.
Filling stations in Abuja, FCT will operate 24 hours from December 9, 2022. They include NNPC mega stations in Zone 1, Airport Road, Jahi and Zone 4, AA Rano stations in Garki, Katampe, City Gate, Mpape and Nyanya.
Other marketers to sell 24 hours include Danmarna, AYM Shafa, Ardova, Shema and Salbas.