Fuel sells for N175 per litre, marketers plot strike, and lines become longer

 Fuel sells for N175 per litre, marketers plot strike, and lines become longer

Vehicle queues at a filling station

On Wednesday, some gas outlets sold Premium Motor Spirit, also known as gasoline, for more than the government-approved N165 per litre because oil marketers said they would go on strike starting the following week if the government didn't pay them (marketers).

According to reports, some stores in Lagos that sold the product last week for N169/litre had to modify their pumps on Wednesday because they were dispensing PMS to drivers at N175/litre.

Additionally, motorist lines at gas stations, which had been present in Abuja and the surrounding area since February of this year, started to appear again in several areas of Lagos on Wednesday.

Additionally, our correspondent noticed that a lot of gas stations, notably those run by Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria members, were closed because of a lack of product to sell.

In spite of long lines of drivers at a nearby NNPC retail location, the Gegu Oil, Eterna, and Oando filling stations at the Dutse end of the Kubwa-Zuba Expressway in Abuja, for example, have been closed for days due to a lack of supplies to sell.

In light of these worries, oil marketers operating under the auspices of Abuja-Suleja IPMAN announced on Wednesday that their planned strike would take place the following week if the government doesn't significantly resolve the bridging claims for the transportation of gasoline that marketers are owed.

Last week, oil marketers cautioned that if the Federal Government doesn't pay the 12 months' worth of bridging claims owed to operators in the downstream oil sector, Nigeria will soon experience "the mother of all lineups."

Additionally, they have denied receiving N74 billion in bridging payments from the Federal Government for the transportation of petroleum products.

The Federal Government announced last week that it had paid N74 billion in bridging claims to oil marketers for the transportation of petroleum products across the nation in just seven months. This was done through the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.

However, Mohammed Shuaibu, the Abuja-Suleja IPMAN's Secretary, who oversees the region that includes Abuja, Kogi, Niger, and portions of Nasarawa and Kaduna, said our correspondent on Wednesday that while some members had acknowledged receiving their money, a large number of others had not.

"Only a small percentage of our members have acknowledged receiving notifications, but the bulk have not received payments, therefore the choice to embark on the mother of all strike still stand.

"Many individual marketers are closing business because of these obligations," Shuaibu continued. We cannot keep folding our hands. We apologize for the inconvenience, but unless the government pays us, we will stop providing our services.

Responding to the worries, NMDPRA spokeswoman Kimchi Apollo earlier informed our correspondent that the approved N165/litre pricing for gasoline had not altered, and that efforts were being made to resolve outstanding claims owed to marketers.

As a result of filling stations starting to sell gasoline for more than N175 a litre on Wednesday, there were signs that lengthy lines were starting to reappear in Lagos State and its surroundings.

Marketers are starting to sell products at rates that have not been approved by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority because the Federal Government and oil marketers have not yet reached an agreement on how much should be charged per litre of gasoline.

The MEDIA observed on Wednesday that long lines were starting to reappear at a few stations with products, despite the fact that the majority of filling stations in Lagos, Ogun state, were under lock and key.

According to a source familiar with the situation, marketers met with Farouk Ahmed, the chief executive of the NMDPRA, in Abuja on Tuesday, and Ahmed begged them not to raise the price.

Our source adds that Farouk pledged to pay the marketers' N74 billion bridging claims as soon as possible.

Marketers, however, said that because they are still losing money while selling gasoline at N165 per litre, they could no longer rely on the Federal Government's pledge to fulfill the claims.

Marketers attended a similar discussion with the NMDPRA two weeks prior, during which they voiced their complaints about the high operating costs of their gas stations.

Additionally, the Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria warned that its members would be unable to maintain rates at N165/litre given the high landing expenses to their stations.