Lagos — Kerosene is now available and is being sold at the regulated price of N50 per litre in African Petroleum (AP) service outlets in Lagos metropolis, Daily Trust findings show.

The development is not unconnected with recent revelation by the Chief Operating Officer of AP, Mr.Tunde Falasinu, that his company would import over 30,000metric tonnes of the product and sell at N50 per litre.

Falasinu had contended that any sale of the product above N50 is illegal since government is already paying subsidy to marketers who import the product into the country.

When Daily Trust visited AP fuel station at Western Avenue, Surulere, at the weekend, kerosene was being sold to many customers who had queued with their jerry cans to buy the product.

The situation was a clear departure from the rowdiness that had characterised the sale a few months ago. Some of the customers expressed satisfaction and commended the company for the initiative.

At the University of Lagos AP retail outlet, incidentally, the only petroleum marketer with a petrol station on the campus, the product was equally available, as students and other residents of the academic community were seen being attended to without the usual rowdiness.

The service manager of the station, who craved anonymity, told our correspondent that the mandate given his station was to satisfy the demands of the community. "What we do here is that we satisfy the academic community. The school authorities monitor the sales themselves. They supervise the sales faculty by faculty, department by department to ensure that all residents and staff are attended to."

Speaking on the supply arrangement of the product, he said they get fresh delivery as soon as they request for it. "If we book for supply, within three days we get supplied."

The Station Dealer at the Western Avenue, Mr. Demola Opetuga disclosed that the product was now readily available in his station. Opetuga pointed out that the closer the source to the station, the regular its gets supplied.

According to him: " kerosene is now readily available in all our stations located in the areas nearest to the sources of supply across the federation, unlike what it was three months ago," noting that ,"If the supplies continue this way, I will want to believe that there will be no queues in the next three months."

He explained that other marketers having realised the futility of fighting against the AP's initiative, are now selling the product in their petrol stations. While also noting that the initiative has also forced down the price of the product at roadside surface tanks as it now goes for between N65 and N70 per litre, and most roadside operators now have regular supplies.

A visit to AP petrol stations on Herbert Macaulay road, Moloney Street and Apapa road revealed the availability of the product. Kerosene was however not available at the Wharf road fuel station, Apapa, when our correspondent visited the station twice.

However, one of the attendants disclosed that they have just exhausted stock and applied for fresh supply. He also revealed that they no longer experienced queues as less people now turn up each time they have supply, unlike when the initiative was flagged off.

According to the Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Tunde Falasinnu, AP has since put the entire logistics nightmare it encountered at the flag off behind it.

He declared that, "we have saturated the market and there is no need for hoarding anymore. We have 33, 000 metric tonnes not yet discharged and another 15 million litres in our storage. We are assuring Nigerians that there is no cause for alarm and there is no reason to be afraid of scarcity of kerosene between now and the end of the year. You can see for yourself that the situation has stabilised and normalcy has been restored. The initiative by our Chairman/CEO, Femi Otedola, has clearly worked."

Reacting, Otedola admitted that at the flag off the campaign, company encountered initial logistic problems which was not out of its own doing, but has since worked around it and has been able to push more products out to its outlets, which has resulted in the product now being available at all its outlets. "I was resolved to overcome the hurdles. We believed it was possible to sell kerosene at N50 to the people, because government heavily subsidizes the product. But for too some people operating within the sector sold it at unacceptably high price of between N100 to N140 in some places. We just couldn't sit down and watch some people fleece Nigerians. So the initiative was born out of the desire to make the product available and at affordable price, so that the man on the street can have access to it and the market woman who daily struggles to put food on the table can afford it to cook for her children".