Nigeria goment don increase pump price of fuel?

Fuel scarcity kasala resulting into long queues still dey bite hard on pipo around Nigeria as some states don dey face am for up to three months.

With di high prices to buy fuel wey di scarcity cause, tori break say di Nigerian goment don officially increase di price of fuel to 185 naira from 170 naira.

Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) chairmo for Kano, Bashir Danmallam tell BBC say goment don officially increase di price but Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) wey be di goment regulatory body never comot to say anything about di change in price.

BBC Pidgin confam say NNPCL outlets for Lagos state don begin dey sell for 184 naira.

Although many stations for months now don dey sell between 190 to 350 in some states.

Dis price hike dey come few days after Nigeria Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, tok of di possibility say dem go remove fuel subsidies from April.

Wetin dey cause fuel scarcity?

Before di increase in price, some petrol stations for Nigeria dey already sell fuel at a higher price dan di official prices due to scarcity.

Many fuel stations for Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Osun, Oyo and odas dey sell for prices wey range between N260 to N600 per litre between November 2022 to January 2023.

Di primary reason for dis scarcity dey come from ''di huge financial burden of subsidy." Na so di Dr. Joseph Ngechu Obelle chairman of IPMAN Rivers State tok.

Dr. Obelle say e dey ''shameful'' say di four refineries wey Nigeria get: two for Port Harcourt, one for Warri and one in Kaduna, no dey work.

"So since we deliberately shut down Nigeria refineries and we dey comfortable to dey import from di international market na im put us for di sad situation we dey so. E no need rocket science to fix di refineries." E tok.

Ngechu Obelle explain say di benchmark for subsidy before dey around N250 per litre and goment dey give marketers at N148 per litre and mandate dem to sell at N165 per litre.

At dat point, Obelle say if marketer dey get product at N148 dat marketer dey expected to sell N165 but at di moment marketers dey buy at N320, N330 per litre.

"Since marketers no be charity organization, make di general public no blame marketers for wetin we dey experience.

''For example here for Rivers State, we get about 19 depots and tank farms wia marketers dey go buy from but as we dey tok na just two of di depots dey service marketers so di demand dey far more than wetin di two depots fit meet so no sufficient stock dey anywia.

E dey quite unfortunate wen we hear say di goment of Nigeria dey tok say sufficient and abundant quantity of petroleum products dey in stock cos we dey ask, wia dis stock dey?

Lagos get about 75 depots and only five of dem dey sell to marketers so di abundant and sufficient stock wey dem say dem get, we are yet to know wia dem pile dem up so marketers fit go buy." E tok.

‘Goment owned depots no get stock’

Di Rivers IPMAN chairman add say anoda reason for di scarcity na say goment owned depots no get stock of petroleum products.

E say under normal circumstances, if for example 100 trucks dey for allocation, na PPMC go allocate to all di States in di Federation.

Na di States' Commissioners of Energy and Natural Resources suppose monitor di number of trucks wey suppose come to dia States to ensure say dem deliver, discharge and dispense am for di State.

So such marketer suppose get product at di official rate of N148 per litre and di State go ensure say dat marketer sell accordingly so na monitoring role dem fit play.

“All dis fit happen wen dem follow di official template but now e dey dismantled as no marketer dey get am at N148 so wetin dem go monitor?

Some of my friends buy from Lagos last week and transportation from Lagos down here dem pay N1.5million for di truck wey carry am, naim make you dey see dem dey sell N320, N350 per litre.

Since marketers no get product at goment rate, you no expect dem to sell at goment rate.”

Dr. Obelle say di only relief from di present scarcity na only wen di Port Harcourt Refinery wey Goment borrow up to N1.5billion dollars to rehabilitate begin work.

‘NNPCL dey ensure sufficient supply of fuel in kontri’

"NNPCL dey do dia work to provide sufficient petroleum products for a minimum of 20 to 32 days and we dey supply to depots at price wey dey agreeable to di goment. But from di point wia e get to di with distribution to marketers and retailers, NNPCL no be di regulator of di downstream sector, dat na di work of di Upstream and downstream regulator."

Dis na wetin di tok tok pesin of NNPCL Garba Deen Muhammad explain to BBC Pidgin.

E say wetin dem dey do na to make sure say supply dey in country of PMS in Nigeria and for efficiency of distribution, dem dey construction roads to make am easy for trucks to carry products go evriwia.

Muhammad add say, " di only downstream sector we control na di NNPC retail stations and we do our best to make sure say fuel dey those stations and dem sell at di price wey goment put.