Marketers alert, high costs and lack of forex making doing business impossible
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Oil markers have alerted Abuja and consumers fuel stations are being forced to shut down because rising costs and the lack of foreign exchange (forex), among other factors making doing business impossible.
Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA) at its meeting in Abuja faulted the way President Bola Tinubu removed fuel subsidy without due process, saying measures that ought to have been in place before the removal were not taken.
NOGASA argued the national refineries should have become operational and issues around forex resolved before the removal of subsidy, and also questioned the government’s sincerity and ability to end the illicit trading of dollars in Nigeria.
NOGASA President Benneth Korie warned the downstream oil sector is under huge pressure as fuel stations are shutting down due to harsh operational conditions.
“Depot owners are so terribly affected by the increasing cost of the crude and exchange rate to the extent that many depots are practically deserted as their owners are unable to secure bank loans to fund their business due to high interest rates,” he disclosed, per Vanguard.
“Banks are not willing to guarantee funds release to stakeholders as a result of the difficulty, instability and galloping foreign exchange rate. Many depots are presently dried up or out of stock.
“Worst hit are filling stations whose owners find it extremely difficult to secure funds to procure products for their retail outlets and both the independent and major marketers are so terribly affected that as at today, filling stations are shutting down in great numbers on a daily basis and dealers are going out of business with many more on the verge of bankruptcy because of their inability to secure funds to facilitate orders for their stations.”
__________________________________________________________________
Related articles:
NNPC cites market forces, IPMAN fingers dollar cost in fuel price rise
Private power generators cost Nigerians N12tr yearly
Namibia pivoting from coal to hydrogen to lead Africa’s green energy quest
__________________________________________________________________
Fuel pump price notches N1,000 per litre, queues back in Abuja
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) on Monday denied the return of subsidy on fuel products, most filling stations were locked in Abuja and its environs on Tuesday witnessed long fuel queues with only a few stations selling.
The development came after the meeting of marketers with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
Black marketers are retailing the product in kegs at N1,000 per litre, per The Guardian.
Prices have also gone up at the pump, as most independent retailers sell at N625 per litre while NNPC stations sell at N613.
