A fuel crisis in May, the political transition month, threatened not only the socio-economic lives of Nigerians, but also raised anxiety about a smooth transition, reports Correspondent, SAM NWOKORO.
At press time, it had not been established that it was a deliberate plot meant to punish anyone, or spun by former President Goodluck Jonathan-led federal government for any reason. And no case was established against the untamable Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), the fearsome cabal that imports refined petroleum products into the Nigerian market from refiners abroad.
MOMAN membership is now about 39, after a rational pruning from nearly 100 members. They are independent companies with exclusive licence to import refined petroleum products into Nigeria. This has been the practice since government resorted to independent private importers to supply fuel to meet the supply shortfall from the nation’s four refineries whose epileptic conditions, owing to series of failed turn around maintenance, had hindered optimal operational performance, and consequently shortfall in the production of refined petroleum products such as: premium motor spirit (PMS) known as petrol, diesel, and dual purpose kerosene (DPK).
The scarcity was caused mainly by the insistence of importers to withhold stock till government clears accumulated subsidy arrears they claim amounts to some N200 billion.
Beginning of trouble
The current fuel crisis became noticeable on the morning of May 5 when queues returned at filling stations across the country. The marketers had exhausted the ones they had in their reserves, so they claimed. And they refused to raise a finger for the two weeks of agony that stretched up to May 18 and the scarcity got worse by the day.
Markets were closed not by official fiat but for lack of transport of any sort to ferry people and their wares. Most students, especially those off campus, stayed away from classrooms because trekking, for them, was not an option. Hospitals could not attend to patients because medical tools that needed power could not be used and medical laboratories simply closed their offices.
A paramedic working at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), who gave his name simply as Tunde, said: “We could not buy diesel for the generator. Only about one unit is functioning and it could not carry the entire complex. It is being used by the Accident and Emergency Ward. Even then, it is not regular. So most of the tests we are carrying out have been suspended until the power situation improves.”
Not just those in the medical field tasted the bitter pill of the latest fuel crisis, the worst since 2011. Most work places were deserted, as only few workers showed up. Media organisations recorded huge losses. Some print media were unable to distribute their publications. Those who attempted could not make nationwide circulation, as many airlines cancelled flight operations intermittently or suspended it due to scarcity of aviation fuel. Telecom services suffered their subscribers as they intermittently sent text messages, alerting “off operation” due to transmission problems, ostensibly due to lack of diesel to power their base stations. Car owners wake up as early as 4am to queue for fuel. Sometimes they return without success. It was as if Nigeria was in a war situation.
However, the only benefit is that those in the city that could get motor fuel rode without traffic jams.
The cost
The cost the fuel imbroglio these past weeks has been incalculable. According to conservative estimate, about 80 per cent of Nigeria’s formal sector activities were paralysed. At the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), a federal government cash cow in the aviation sector, for instance, some group of workers took opportunity of the fuel crisis to launch a protest march with the assistance of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Lagos State chapter.
There were whispers that some top shots of the agency or its contractors made away with some millions belonging to the agency, though this was being discussed in hushed tones. It took the intervention of the Aviation Minister, Osita Chidoka, to pacify the aggrieved workers.
At some places like Idi Araba area in Lagos, movement of Northern traders who regularly travel in the night was hindered by the fuel crisis. The supply of foodstuff, especially grains from the North, was hindered, and it marginally affected the prices of foodstuff and other items. Certainly, Nigerians have not had this kind in recent time. Nigeria’s sovereign rating took a dangerous plummet during this past two weeks.
Trading blames
MOMAN refused to raise a finger right from the onset of the scarcity, saying unless the debt owed them by the federal government was fully paid. Its Executive Secretary, Obafemi Olawore, said they were owed N200 billion, and that banks had stopped giving them loan for oil import because of their huge indebtedness. But government disputed the debt figures, saying marketers are owed N131 billion. Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said the marketers were blackmailing Nigerians with their claims and that those claims were subject to verification if at all the government was going to pay.
In the mind of the public, the marketers created the scarcity while hoarding the fuel. Some of the marketers anchored the mother vessels bringing consignment on the high sea while others simply locked their consignments in their tank farms while the scarcity lasted.
There was public suspicion that the artificial scarcity was created to force the outgoing government to pay the amount claimed or alternatively box the Buhari administration in a corner.
The minister, toeing this line of suspicion, said: “We wonder why the marketers suddenly became desperate to collect the money owed them, to the extent they have stopped fuel importation. They are aware of the challenges confronting the government. We expect them to be considerate and go about making their demand with a human face.”
The Capital Oil coup
As the fuel crisis was taking its toll on Nigerians, and the marketers seeing that the outgoing Jonathan government was not in the mood to be boxed in, by way of paying out another unverified N200 billion subsidy claim, the marketers bowed, having been staged out by Patrick Ubah, MD/CEO of Capital Oil and Gas, one of Nigeria’s major indigenous oil and gas international merchants whose loading bays and other facilities is ranked the largest in West Africa. Capital Oil controls an estimated 35 per cent of fuel market in Nigeria alone. So when he opted to ‘sell out’, it became obvious to his MOMAN colleagues that their scheme had been sabotaged, and they agreed to “parley” with government.
As a smart businessman, Uba played into populist sympathy as well as into the mind of the incoming government.
Dan Ngwoo, an elated Lagos transporter at the announcement by Capital Oil that its depots are now open, said: “Uba is a shrewd businessman. He is also a patriot. His action is commendable. He did not want his friend, Jonathan, to go out with the embarrassment MOMAN members want to create for him, and again he wants to demonstrate to the new government that not all MOMAN members are as evil as being painted by members of the public, as most of them do not understand the politics of fuel subsidy.
“His intervention would force other marketers to open their own depots. The marketers have fuel or are anchoring mother vessels carrying fuel on high sea and bringing it in small batches. What they are doing with government is a cat and mouse game.”
As if to confirm his cynicism, barely 24 hours after Uba made what looked like a nationwide statement on the fuel crisis and ordered his staff to release fuel, the biting scarcity eased in a flash.
Michael Ikem, a Lagos resident, commented: “This shows that the marketers were playing games. If they were not hoarding the fuel, how come shipload would arrive Nigeria from far away Indonesia or Europe in less than two weeks. Uba should be commended for his patriotic action.”
Uba and octopus Capital Oil
The oil magnet who caused the fuel imbroglio to abate had said in a public statement: “On Saturday May 16, we received an SMS ordering the suspension of loading activities in all depots from Monday, May 18, 2015. We later realised that this directive was as a result of unpaid funds owed to transporters by oil marketers who in turn are owed by federal government. This development has resulted in immense hardship to our fellow countrymen and women.
“We believe that a better solution can be pursued towards solving the problem in a way that does not adversely affect our dear citizens. Capital Oil and Gas has watched with so much pain the suffering and hardship our citizens have been subjected to as a result of scarcity of petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and household kerosene.
“We are deeply pained that hospitals cannot perform surgeries. Laboratories are unable to carry out much needed tests, especially for emergency patients, leaving them at the risk of death. Radio stations are shutting down. Communication is being affected as MTN and other communication companies have announced an impending shutdown, while homes, offices and key facilities nationwide are experiencing blackouts. In some parts of the country, petrol is already selling at an all-time high of N1,000 per litre. Our citizens have left their homes and are now sleeping in fuel stations, facing the risk of robbery attacks and other attendant risks.
“We are constrained at this point and have decided that two wrongs cannot make a right. We will not be part of this sabotage against our fatherland. Therefore, from this minute, we shall take the risk of opening our facilities and commence swift loading and distribution of products nationwide. Our facility has the capacity to load over 13 million litres of products before dawn. This comes to approximately 400 trucks of petroleum products. With this act, it is our belief that once again, our citizens will begin to smile, return to normal family and work life. We call on other petroleum marketers to follow suit and save our nation from this impending economic and social crises. This is a period that requires patriotism and service to fatherland. Let’s join hands to help our fellow citizens and save Nigeria…”
The Capital Oil boss also tried to proffer a bipartisan approach towards solving the perennial truck and tanker gridlock along the ever-busy Apapa-Oshodi expressway, a route through which fuel is transported, in a bid to ensure hitch-free distribution before May 29.
“Most importantly, we wish to use this medium to thank NNPC for its steadfastness in ensuring the availability of petroleum products. Current PMS stock level in our storage tanks and buffer stocks on vessels awaiting discharge at our jetty is capable of meeting the nation’s need for 15 days. Further, we wish to emphasise that we have a total solution to the traffic menace on Oshodi-Apapa Expressway. In the coming weeks, we hope to engage the federal government (Federal Ministry of Transport), Lagos State Government and other stakeholders in the affected areas to optimally utilise our truck park facility which has the capacity to accommodate over 1,100 trucks per time and 5,000 on a shift basis.
“Capital Oil and Gas continues to appeal to Nigerians to accept and support deregulation, as this will curb corruption, enhance competition, lead to reduction of pump price for petrol products and ensure constant supply to meet Nigerians’ demand,” he added.
