As marketers blame high cost of fuel on dealers

… seek FG’s intervention in FOREX

By Sebastine Obasi, Mike Eboh, Ediri Ejoh & Prince Okafor

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, said, yesterday, that 1,194 truckloads of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS (petrol), comprising 39.4 million litres of the product, were distributed across the country on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, marketers, on the platform of Major Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, said they should be exonerated from the high price of petrol arising from the lingering fuel scarcity.

According to NNPC, in its Daily PMS Supply and Distribution schedule for Tuesday, April 19, the product was loaded from various NNPC and major marketers’ depots nationwide.

The report also disclosed that five NNPC and marketers vessels were currently discharging at various depots/jetties nationwide, while seven NNPC import/shuttle vessels had been programmed to do Ship-to-Ship, STS, operation for onward discharge to inland depots.
The NNPC further stated that 21 import vessels, laden with 844.1 million litres of PMS, had arrived in the month of April for NNPC.

Allocations
Giving a breakdown of trucks dispatched to selected states, NNPC said 467 truckloads of PMS, comprising 15.41 million litres was dispatched to Lagos; 141 trucks, carrying 4.65 million litres, was dispatched to Abuja, while Kano, Port Harcourt and Kaduna received 759,000 litres, 957,000 litres and 1.188 million litres, respectively.
Ebonyi, Ondo, Sokoto, Borno, Cross River and Plateau got 132,000, 495,000, 264,000, 231,000, 528,000 and 297,000 litres, respectively.

NNPC further stated that it has 17 days sufficiency up from three to four days sufficiency in March at the peak of petrol shortage, while it appealed to motorists not to engage in panic buying.

Meanwhile, exonerating MOMAN from the high price of petrol, the Executive Secretary, Thomas Olawore, said members sell according to government regulation.
He said: “It is not true that major marketers are dispensing petrol above the regulated price of N86.50. There are distinctions between a dealer and marketers in the sale of PMS.

“A marketer cannot impose prices on dealers. If a petrol station is selling above the regulated price, it is the fault of the dealers and not the marketers.”
As regards the issue of foreign exchange, Olawore said that it should be government’s priority to assist marketers to import products.
Meanwhile, in various parts of Lagos and environs, petrol has remained scarce, as a few filling stations, which opened to motorists, sell between N150 and N200 per litre, against the official price of N86.50k.