…As petrol scarcity bites harder in Abuja
There are growing concerns that the price of Automated Gas Oil (AGO), or diesel, may soon hit an all-time high amid lingering fuel shortages in States across the country.
With no end in sight to the continued rise in the cost of importing the product, and subsidising Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), a.k.a petrol, Nigerians are bound to face a resultant foreign exchange-related hardship that may outstrip the gains of subsidy.
A clear indication of an imminent danger emerged last Tuesday, when oil marketers under the aegis of the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association (NOGASA), raised the alarm that about 75% of filling stations across the country are currently out of business due to their inability to purchase diesel required to power their tankers and transport PMS to their various outlets.
The marketers also stated that the cost of diesel would keep increasing and might hit N1,500/litre in the next few months if nothing drastic was done to curtail the current challenge faced by importers of the product.
Most industries are already being hit as the price continues to skyrocket, which is also driving inflation that stands at 17.8%.
According to NOGASA, the only solution to the current challenge was for the federal government to raise the pump price of petrol a little in order to reduce the huge foreign exchange used in PMS imports. Diesel, which is deregulated and used mostly by industry and airlines, is going through the roof due to the Russia- Ukraine war.
This, it said, would eventually free up some forex for diesel imports, a development that would impact positively on the rising cost of diesel, which it stressed was currently sold at N850/litre.
The latest figures from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, (NNPC), showed that the amount spent on fuel subsidy maintained an upward trend from January to April this year. In January, February, March and April, the national oil firm incurred N210.38bn, N219.78bn, N245.77bn and N271.58bn respectively, amounting to a total of N947.51bn during the 4 months.
According to National President, NOGASA, Bennett Korie, if the Government could bring down the rate at which it spends foreign exchange on PMS imports, this would help other businessmen who import diesel to bring in products at low prices.
He also stated that this was the major reason why fuel queues had failed to clear in Abuja, as many filling stations lacked the funds to buy diesel at a high cost to run their trucks, transport petrol to the capital city and would still be made to sell PMS at N165/litre. He further explained that Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri and other States closer to these areas had no queues because the three named cities have seaports and large depots for loading and distributing petroleum products.
Also, speaking on the sidelines of the Afrexim bank in Cairo, Egypt, last week, AbdulSamad Rabiu, said there is a crisis looming in the diesel and forex sectors, which threatens the survival of industries and the economy. He added that rising prices could force companies to shut down because there is a limit to which prices can rise.
Meanwhile, residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) yesterday experienced pains over the scarcity of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), or petrol.
The petrol stations monitored all showed endless queues and unbecoming tales of hardship from the commuters who spent the best part of the day longing to buy the fuel. The stations sold the product at the official N165 per litre.
With the unending scarcity and poor market supervision, black marketing was commonplace in the city. While some sold the product with a 10 litre plastic container per N3,000 some sold it for as much as N4,000 to customers that ran out of the product midway.
