Current nation-wide fuel scarcity takes toll on Anambra State as prices of goods and services skyrocket, Special Correspondent, OKEY MADUFORO, reports.
The queue at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) mega stations in the last couple of weeks had been long and frustrating. Traumatised motorists, who had borne the brunt of the unpleasant situation, had stormed the stations as early as 6.30am each day waiting for the arrival of the scarce and often non-available Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise called petrol. Some even spent up to two days waiting for their turn. Where the products were eventually seen, usually at the so-called black market, the prices had gone up from the official rate of N87 per litre to as much as N200.
At the NNPC mega stations in Awka, Anambra State, for instance, petrol was sold at N120 per litre. Motorists that could not exercise the patience at the mega stations resorted to buying from private filling stations.
Since the past three weeks when the scarcity took turns for the worst, economic activities had been adversely affected. Among the immediate impact was that road users were forced to pay twice their normal cost of transportation. Also affected were small scale businesses that depend solely on petrol to power their generators.
While other states in the South East suffered from scarcity of petroleum products, the situation in Anambra was slightly different. Here, the issue was not non-availability of products but sharp increase in prices. In the process, the pump price of petrol in the area had in the last two weeks fluctuated between N145 and N150 per litre, while marketers in Enugu and Imo states dispensed products at N170 and N200 per litre in that order.
Chidi Nwakpolo of Opet Filling station Agu-Awka told TheNiche that the price differentials had to do with the number of marketers in Anambra.
“Anambra State has the largest number of petroleum marketers compared to other states in the South East and South South. They go extra mile in sourcing for the product. They can go as far as Kaduna or Lagos to source for petroleum products. The recent consignment that we are selling now was bought at N145 per litre, some bought at N148 per litre, and you can imagine how much they make as profit. Fuel cannot be scarce in Anambra. When you go to Rivers State, a litre of petrol is sold at N200,” he said.
Uchenna Ezeala, the proprietor of Fuppon Filling Station that is now an NNPC mega station in Anambra, stated why they needed constant supply of the product.
“Most depots are closed and the marketers cannot buy fuel any more. NNPC also has its own channel and we call it NNPC Retail Limited.
“Before my station became mega station, I used to sell 20 trucks in a month; but today I cannot sell up to two trucks. All the same, Anambra marketers are doing their best to ensure that we do not experience scarcity. So we need more supply of the product. We have an agreement with the state government on the problems being faced by the common masses over the fuel issue. So we make little profit instead of ripping off the public because we want to do business.”
Corroborating this view, Senior Special Assistant to Anambra State Governor on Oil and Gas, Ngozi Okoye, told TheNiche that Governor Willie Obiano had made spirited efforts at alleviating the problems of consumers in the availability of petroleum products.
Her words: “We have the Kero Direct Scheme which has to do with selling kerosene to the rural dwellers at the official price of N50 per litre. So far, we have executed that scheme in Orumba South, Oyi, Anambra East, Njikoka, Nnewi North and Nnewi South local government areas.
“Due to the epileptic nature of our refineries, we are not having constant supply of the product. Already, we are in contact with the official of the NNPC and they have promised to supply more, very soon. I think this also has to do with the change of government, and things are being put in shape before supply gets normalised.”
Okoye further explained that the cordial relationship between Anambra State government, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association (IPMAN) and the Petroleum Dealers Association of Nigeria (PEDAN) has gone a long way in ensuring that the pump price of petrol does not go beyond N150 per litre.
“They (marketers) saw reasons with government and we also appealed to them to consider the plight of the masses. We are happy to say that they are complying,” she added.
Even with the understanding between the government and marketers resulting in the prevailing prices, commercial motorcycle operators, who spoke with our reporter, noted that the N150 pump price was biting hard on their business. They however acknowledged that compared with other states in the South East, marketers in Anambra dispense the products at relatively cheaper rate.
Similarly, artisans and small scale business-owners have expressed concern over the petroleum crisis in the state, but urged the state government to ensure availability of products and stability in the cost.
Incidentally, the price of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) popularly known as diesel was on the decrease as a litre was sold at N108 as against N115 that it was bought in the past.
Insiders attributed the trend to the fact that subsidy on diesel had long been withdrawn in response to the market forces.