The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company, PPMC, has been accused of failing in their basic duties as scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, has continued to cause untold hardship to Nigerians despite promises from President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure adequate supply of the product.
With the fuel scarcity hitting major parts of the country especially Abuja and Lagos and being sold for as high as N120, N150 and N170/liter, the NNPC and PPMC have been oblivious and consistently denied the current scarcity.
They have however claimed the increase in prices is a direct consequence of panic buying and continued to reel out a version of events that claims there is more than adequate product in stock.
Despite huge strides of the former President Goodluck Jonathan administration in establishing the supply and price of the much sought after product before he left office especially when efforts were made to remove subsidy, the country seems to have slid back by years in the past few months.
It will be recalled that there was a huge racket over the same subsidy issue in 2012 with protests spreading against any move to remove it.
Oil marketers have continued to be seen as the main benefactors of the subsidy arrangement.
Despite agitations from the Leadership of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas, NUPENG, for total deregulation of the downstream sector and complete removal of fuel subsidy the nation’s prolonged fuel crisis and scarcity, Buhari just last week announced the payment of a whooping N415 billion in subsidy payments to oil marketers.
On refineries, earlier statements from the NNPC had created a perception that the nation’s refineries were back on stream but the realities on ground say otherwise, a reason NNPC needs not make more noise but rather get to action with the marketers who have continued to hold the nation hostage.
With the fuel scarcity hitting major parts of the country especially Abuja and Lagos and being sold for as high as N120, N150 and N170/liter, the NNPC and PPMC have been oblivious and consistently denied the current scarcity.
They have however claimed the increase in prices is a direct consequence of panic buying and continued to reel out a version of events that claims there is more than adequate product in stock.
Despite huge strides of the former President Goodluck Jonathan administration in establishing the supply and price of the much sought after product before he left office especially when efforts were made to remove subsidy, the country seems to have slid back by years in the past few months.
It will be recalled that there was a huge racket over the same subsidy issue in 2012 with protests spreading against any move to remove it.
Oil marketers have continued to be seen as the main benefactors of the subsidy arrangement.
Despite agitations from the Leadership of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas, NUPENG, for total deregulation of the downstream sector and complete removal of fuel subsidy the nation’s prolonged fuel crisis and scarcity, Buhari just last week announced the payment of a whooping N415 billion in subsidy payments to oil marketers.
On refineries, earlier statements from the NNPC had created a perception that the nation’s refineries were back on stream but the realities on ground say otherwise, a reason NNPC needs not make more noise but rather get to action with the marketers who have continued to hold the nation hostage.
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