Fuel Scarcity as Petrol Sells For N200 Per Litre
By Joe Onyeukwu
 15th JAN 2007

Most filling stations are without stock. Social and economic activities in Nigeria have been crippled by fuel scarcity as most filling stations are without stock. The price per litre, normally N65, has shot up to N200 in some parts.

As a result transport fares have more than tripled everywhere while the cost of goods and services has skyrocketed. There are long queues of anxious motorists outside fuel stations in anticipation of supply from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), whose Group Managing Director, Funso Kupolokun, blamed the growing desperation of consumers to get the elusive commodity on panic. Levi Ajuonuma, its General Manager Group Public Affairs, had earlier attributed the scarcity to the suspension of pumping of products from Atlas Cove to the Mosimi depot following pipeline vandalism in Ijegun, Lagos. Ajuonuma identified incessant sabotage as the cause of the problem, and confirmed that the NNPC’s operations, in terms of products distribution, have been grounded.

"The challenge the NNPC is presently facing in the distribution of petroleum products is due to the activities of vandals and not products scarcity," Ajuonuma explained.

He said the system has become so fragile that any disruption in supply would result in a negative impact nationwide. Marketers attribute the problem to the low stock at NNPC depots, caused by insufficient procurement, which has warranted the corporation rationing supply.

Illegal petrol hawkers have taken over, in defiance of government’s declaration to outlaw the sale of fuel in containers on the street. Station attendants are making brisk business. Apart from collecting extra money to attend to customers, they collude with those who buy in containers for resale to motorists at exorbitant prices.

N570 billion ($4.4b) in revenue was lost by Nigeria in 2006 principally to social disruptions, especially in the Niger Delta.

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