Leadership (Abuja)
9 April 2008
editorial
Abuja — Fuel queues are sad and embarrassing reminders of Nigeria's senseless dependence on imported refined petroleum products. As usual, the federal government has responded by passing the buck. The NNPC blames the development on panic-buying by consumers following threats by oil workers to go on strike. The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the regulator of the downstream sector of the oil industry, said it had intercepted shiploads of fuel with high ethanol content, and that news of the interception led to speculation of shortage that triggered panic-buying and consequently the long queues.
The basic truth that could be gleaned from the government's incoherent explanation is that there is a supply deficit which the NNPC does not want to admit. Everything points to the fact that marketers have resorted to the importation of polluted fuel that is cheaper than the fuel meant for the Nigerian market. After the embarrassment of the last one month, the DPR is becoming stricter about the ethanol content of fuel coming into the country. This has resulted in the long queues of ships loaded with fuel waiting to be screened.
Given the extensive damage to cars by the high-ethanol fuel imported in February, no one can blame DPR for being strict with its content analysis. The solution lies in self-sufficiency in fuel production. There must be a way out of the country's shameful dependence on imported petroleum products. Too many man-hours are being lost at retail outlets.
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