IPMAN says scarcity of petrol continues without product to load

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria on Tuesday said the ongoing fuel scarcity might linger on as marketers faced the challenges of non-availability of petrol in depots.
Alhaji Ahmed Debo, the Chairman of the Western Zone of IPMAN, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos as queues resurfaced within the metropolis.
According to Debo, marketers are facing serious challenges because there is no petrol to load.
He said: “There is no product to load to the hinterland.
“Most marketers depend on Lagos and they could not get product.
“So, it’s very difficult getting petrol in Ilorin, Kogi, Osun, Ekiti, Ibadan and others.
“We hope that government would expedite action on petrol importation to salvage the situation as most marketers had been thrown out of business.
“We could not load petrol in major depots in Lagos as it is only NIPCO and Folawiyo that have product, which is strictly for NNPC retail outlets.
“Loading tickets given to marketers couldn’t work as there is no petrol to load in any depots.”
Debo, however, urged President Muhamadu Buhari to urgently intervene on the lingering fuel scarcity issues and importation challenges to avoid hindering socio-economic growth of the nation.
He said: “We are still having the fuel problem because there is no supply.
“Even with the little we are rationing, if you look at the queues very well, they have returned to what they used to be.
“And it is a very devastating situation now.
“Most of the depots are not loading well.
“Even the products they promised that they will soon pump to the depots are not in sight now.”
A NAN correspondent, who monitored the situation, reported that the slight improvement in recent days has worsened as queues grew longer on Tuesday at the few petrol stations selling the product in Lagos.
NAN also reports that as fuel queues grew longer in Lagos metropolis, loading at depots has not improved significantly, with many of them still attending to tickets issued in 2015.
In Lagos, many filling stations did not have the product, while those who had sell within N150 to N220 per litre.
Some stations on Ikorodu Road such as NIPCO, Total, Conoil and Forte oil are selling, but experiencing long queues.
At Ikorodu, few stations such as Bravo, Fagbems, Dhram, Accion and Flomssy were selling between N150 and N230 per litre.
The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Garba Deen Mohammed, had assured motorists and other users that the current shortage would soon be over as the problems had been largely resolved.
NAN.