Despite claims to a removal of subsidy in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry and the fact that the pump price has almost quadrupled since last May, long queues of vehicles have resurfaced at the few filling stations dispensing fuel in Abuja. What is becoming clear is that no remarkable progress has been made in the management of our downstream petroleum sector vis-à-vis arresting cyclical petrol scarcity and long queues of vehicles, even when Nigerians are paying far more than they did in the past.
While officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) talk about "abundant products", vehicle owners in Abuja are groaning. From last Thursday, there have been long queues at a few filling stations dispensing fuel, while most other stations have been under lock and key. Ordinarily, with NNPCL retail outlets selling fuel for N617 per litre as against other outlets where the price can be as high as N700 per litre, queues are not unusual with the company. But the current situation where most other outlets are not selling points to a crisis with black marketers taking advantage of the situation to sell fuel at prices ranging between N1,000 and N1,500 per litre.
As a newspaper, we believe that full deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry is beneficial to every Nigerian and have always endorsed the idea. But we want this to be done with clarity and not in the deceptive manner as done in the past. It is for this reason that we find the reappearance of fuel queues on our streets very appalling. It is simply unfair to Nigerians to get treated the way this government and previous ones have done to them on issues of petrol supply and pricing. We cannot emphasise enough the fact that an oil producing country should have no business with scarcity of refined petroleum products. It does not speak well of the managers of the sector, and their decisions are hurting all of us.
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In its usual style of public communication especially on oil-related business, the NNPCL has tried to explain away the reasons for the resurgent queues. The company is heaping all the blame for the scarcity on oil marketers who are being accused of hoarding petroleum products. The NNPCL also claims that there is availability of fuel in the country. But rather cleverly, the NNPCL has refused to tell Nigerians that it is the sole importer of fuel in a supposedly deregulated sector. Rather than point fingers, therefore, NNPCL should own up to the breakdown in product supply.
From daily hikes in costs of staple foods, transportation, school fees, house rent and other inescapable expenses Nigerians are groaning under harsh economic conditions arising from recent reform measures whose implementation seemed not to have been well thought-out.
For those with medical issues and limited means, it has become a stark choice between taking care of basic expenses and attending to their health needs, between a decent meal and worsening health. The fact that subsidies are still being paid while fuel is now also no longer readily available raises pertinent questions that demand urgent answers from the Tinubu administration.
