The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has empathised with the difficulties Nigerians are going through especially during this Easter celebration due to the current fuel situation and assures that the government and NNPC are not taking their patience for granted.

The spokesman of NNPC, Garba Deen Mohammed, urged Nigerians to continue to be patient because the difficulties being experienced as a result of the situation will soon be alleviated.

“We would like to assure all Nigerians that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources/Group Managing Director, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, and everybody else associated with this situation is working tirelessly round the clock to ensure relief is brought to Nigerians.

“Our immediate concern is to make petrol available through the interventions and processes put in place so that the queues will disappear within the next one to two weeks. As at yesterday, one cargo containing 42 million litres of petrol has completely discharged, two more petrol cargos with a combined 44 million litres are currently discharging, while another cargo containing 44 million litres is berthed and awaiting discharge. We have enough products lined up to ensure that the supply gap which created the problem is bridged.

“In order to ensure effective distribution, we are working with Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), oil majors and over 1,000 NNPC staff nationwide to ensure we overcome the obstacles in the distribution of the products,” he said.

Meanwhile, as rationing of fuel gets severe following the sole importer status of the  NNPC, marketers have begun to lobby the corporation to get fuel allocation at the depots.

At the weekend, most of the filling stations, including those owned by the major marketers and NNPC were dry and it was field day for hawkers. The hawkers were seen at major streets and within filling stations selling fuel with 10-litre kegs at well over 100 per cent of the approved price. They sell the 10 litres at between N2,500 and N3,500 depending on the area of Lagos.

When The Nation spoke with some depot owners, they said the situation is critical because there is serious competition at Apapa. Marketers lobby to get supply now. If go round, you will notice that many retail outlets are selling. There is no fuel that is the fact.

Even some the major marketers that the NNPC holds in high regard, now divert allocations to areas they sell the product for a premium. The situation may not improve till well after Easter. What the Corporation does now is give a truck of fuel to one company in four days.

The announcement by the Minister of Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr Emmanuel Kachikwu that fuel scarcity will not end till May, also fueled the scarcity. The public started a fresh panic-buying and hoarding in an already bad situation, and some filling stations are hoarding to sell at exorbitant price especially at nights and very early in the morning. It is unfortunate, the sources added.

However, when The Nation spoke with the Manager, Public and Government Affairs, Mobil Oil Plc, Mr. Akin Fatunke, he said reports from the company’s field officers showed there was fuel and the firm was loading and pumping. He stated that generally there was tightness due to the foreign exchange issue, which prevents many marketing firms from importing.

He said: “Actually there is fuel. Mobil, Total and Forte are heavily importing on their own aside the allocations from NNPC. But let me talk about Mobil Oil alone. We are loading and pumping fuel. We have been loading trucks from our depot and also pumping at our filling station but remember we also bridge to other states of the country. We don’t supply Lagos alone, we take care of our customers in the north, south east and south-south.

“We loaded yesterday, will load today and on Monday. Our filling stations that you said are not selling will get supply shortly and start selling. But the general situation is that there is a lot of tightness in supply and distribution channels owing to the foreign exchange (forex) limitation issue because it is restricting many marketers from importing fuel.

“Mobil imports all of its allocations as allotted by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA). We import we our money, obey the basic rules of the business that is the reason there is convergence on our stations. We expect to receive a cargo on Tuesday and will continue pumping.”