Fuel Sells for 115per Litter As Scarcity Cripples Kano

IPMAM Heaps Blame On NNPC.

PREVAILING scarcity of fuel in the country, is currently beating hard on Kano residents as motorists are being surcharged to purchase the commodity for between #112.00 and #115.00 per litter against the control price of #87.00 per litre.

Apart from few stations that dispense at that exorbitant rate, majority of marketers have shut their stations in the last one week, a development some believe was deliberately conceived and not due to lack of stock.

The acute scarcity in the last 7 days long queues of motorists, both commercial and private, are of common sight across few major and independent marketers who are dispensing the commodity in the metropolis.

But the Independent Petroleum Marketers is accusing the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation NNPC for the sudden increase in the cost of lifting the product “ making it difficult for independent marketers who does have the credit assurance to lift the fuel and make payment after sales.”

IPMAN chairman in Kano, Alh Bashir Ahmed while responding to the current fuel scarcity told journalists that part of the challenge was the inability of NNPC to dispense products from its Kano and Kaduna depot, a development IPMAN insisted was partially responsible for the prevailing scarcity of the product in the country in the last two weeks.

Alh. Bashir who however, maintained that the current development across major cities in the country was not due to unavailability of the products particularly in Lagos depot but owing to overbearing cost coupled with other operational charges, marketers may not be able to sell to final consumers at the regulated price of #87.00 per litter.

IPMAN chairman in Kano Alhaji Bashir Ahmed told The Guardian that marketers are constrained to commit huge resources on the current cost of the product coupled with operational expenses and still expected to dispense at government control price of N87.00.

Alh. Bashir said further” the current scarcity in the country is not because the NNPC did not have fuel in Lagos. As far as we know the products are fully deposited in Lagos depot but the condition attached to lifting the products is what is making it difficult. Right now in Lagos we have our tankers waiting to be loaded but we have to think otherwise on the cost because nobody we like to run business at lost. There is no way we marketers we buy the product at the current price and still expect us to sell at #87.00 is just not visible I must tell you this.”

 Responding on why some marketers are currently harden fuel due to forthcoming general elections, the IPMAN chairman debunked the claim as rumor that is far from reality “ because no responsible marketer would procure the products for millions of naira and still be willing to abandon it in stock. What do you stand to gain. Let me tell you there is no gain anybody can get in harden the product. I can tell you any fueling station you see selling is simply doing so because they have the product and if they are not selling, that means they don’t have it.”