MINISTER OF PETROLEUM STORMS LAGOS; TO PUNISH OIL MARKETERS BEHIND SCARCITY

Determined to have a firsthand understanding of the cause of the prolonged fuel scarcity across the country, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, paid a surprise visit to several filling stations in Lagos Sunday and concluded that the marketers were behind the scarcity of the product.

Speaking during the inspection of some filling stations in Lagos State, the minister said the country had enough PMS to meet the domestic demand.

“We have enough fuel to wet the country, but the challenge we are having is that, after loading, some truck drivers will not supply the lifted products at the designated filling stations. Having gone round the state (Lagos), it is not just the filling stations at Ikoyi that appeared to be wet with product, but other extreme locations like Ajah and other parts in Surulere,” she said.

This came on a day that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the International Oil Companies (IOCs) are engaged in rounds of accusation and counter accusation over the commencement of new projects by the IOCs.

Speaking on the scarcity of petrol, Alison-Madueke said there were many factors militating against efficient delivery of the products to the end users.

“We learnt that some of the marketers instructed their drivers to change the number plates of their trucks to make it difficult for tracking. Does it mean those markets they are diverting the product to are more lucrative than intended market? I have directed the heads of the agencies, Departemnt of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Pipeline Product Marketing Company (PPMC) and Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), to get back to me today and give me a clear picture and timeline in terms of numbers of trucks coming in to Lagos, the volumes and where they are getting to in terms of the market,” she said.

“If we can establish there is (diversion of products), I want to know when and how this is being done. They need to supply me how these trucks are being tracked because diversion is not easy to do. They will be sanctioned and I am ready to publish names of anybody that may be involved,” she added.

The minister however assured Nigerians that there were enough products in strategic reserves that would last for over two weeks if importation of fuel were to be suspended.

The private marketers had blamed the scarcity on the delay of their fourth quarter 2014 import allocation by the PPPRA.