By Yemie Adeoye

AT filling stations, queues of  vehicles are building up across Lagos and other parts of the country following the non-issuance of import approval  to petroleum marketers and the subsequent shelving of  products importation.

Investigations in Lagos showed that most petrol stations did not have products to dispense, an indication that the over 50 cargoes said to have been brought in by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) may not be enough to satisfy needs of  the country.

Many retail outlets also appeared to have started hoarding the products out of anxiety over the November 1 date (today) reportedly set for the implementation of  full deregulation of the oil sector.

A major industry operator told  Sunday Vanguard that the queues will continue all through the weekend because the NNPC alone could not dispense products for the entire country.

According to him, the problem was caused out of government’s decision not to issue marketers with import approval. “As things stand today, we all have import permit which is being issued by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), but we still cannot bring in products because the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) did not issue any of us with import approval, and, without this document, we are not eligible to get our subsidy. So, the fear is that if anyone imports, he may not get his subsidy allowance from the PPPRA.”

However, the Federal Government has  denied any such intention to deregulate the downstream sector from today. It was gathered that the marketers reason not to import products is in an effort to ensure that they do not run into murky waters as a result of the government’s looming deregulation policy, especially as some of them are still being rattled by the on-going reforms in the banking sector.

Not a few marketers complained that they are not very sure of the government’s seriousness on deregulation  issue, especially as the labour unions under the Nigeria Labour Congress have promised to embark on a nationwide strike to register their displeasure with the federal government over the issue.

Sunday Vanguard investigations showed that presently the NNPC  has been saddled with sole responsibility of ensuring a steady flow of supply and importation,  a move  many industry operators have condemned as an invitation to nationwide scarcity.