By Dennis Mernyi Abuja
It is either the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited that has roundly failed in its’ promises to deliver on its 2.3 billion litres of petrol it claimed to have in stock, or gave the assurance in a bid to paper the cracks over its battered reputation on the debilitating petrol scarcity.

Nigerians have been groaning under the fuel scarcity since January this year with no hope for an end. Daily, the situation is worsened by multiple facets. As the scarcity bites harder, pump price soared. Just like when the toxic petrol was imported and the tide of blame game and bulk passing about who was responsible for bringing in the product, marketers also trade blames with the NNPC.

The NNPCL had always assured of adequate products in stock to supply to the market for sale. It has always promised that the fuel situation will get better, the long queues will disappear and the suffering Nigerians will heave a sigh of relief soon. The promises have unfortunately become endless as since then, it has been every tortuous passing day.

At the height of all these, petroleum marketers allege sharp practice by the officials of the NNPC Limited over upward differential in the landing cost of petrol as the decries payment of over N186 per litre as landing cost. Marketers under the aegis of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) at some point decried that decries payment of over N186 per litre as landing cost of petrol.

For the reasons above and more, marketers have resolved to sell petrol above N300 per litre, the price government had hinted last year that petrol, will be soled at the time subsidy is removed this year.
Checks at the IPMAN indicates that marketers under its fold are the worst hit. It was also gathered that depot owners and MOMAN operate at a loss in the rig of the disrupted products supply chain involving NNPCL.

It was further gathered that as a result of disruption in the distribution system, suspicions are heightened over improper monitoring process and the unexplainable silence on the part of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

With the thriving of the excesses of both the NNPCL and the marketers, with products but selling above the pump price or hoarding, some Nigerians are pointing accusing fingers at 8NMDPRA over its complicity.

It has been generally believed that the existing strategy being deployed by the state oil firm in an attempt to enable it to recover cost after being transformed into a limited liability company may further worsen the prevailing situation.

NNPC, is expected to truck out products to most stations in the city centres owned by the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), most depot owners instead of supplying the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) now prefer to sell the products at their stations in a bid to recover losses from bank loans and new challenges that include, payment for products in dollars, which they claimed they have to source at the black market

Sadly, the Petroleum Resources minister and President Muhammadu Buhari have failed Nigerians. He has failed to deliver on his campaign promises. In 2014/2015 built up to the presidential elections, Buhari’s party, the APC promised to build refineries to ensure no measure of crude is exported for refining abroad. Till date, barely a year to the end of his administration, no single refinery has been built. The four existing ones are moribund. No single litre of petrol is been produced in the country. Nigeria still imports the product it produced in large quantity.

Some filling stations across the country have shut down or dispensing from one or two pumps. He situation has caused permanent long queues at most of them. The situation gets worse given the erratic electricity supply in the country where running most business and homes depends on independent power sources like generators, the source for fuel has become more intense.

Left without any option other than buying from ‘black market’ sources, many businesses, individuals and organisations are grounded with the already rising inflation that has pushed virtually every household groaning under hardship as commodity prices skyrocketed.

Defection: Fear grips Ayade, Matawalle over Umahi’s court case

The government has tried to explain that the current fuel crises is as a result of the toxic petrol imported in January as the beginning of the problem.

For many time, the NNPC group managing director Mele Kyari has not inly promised but assured that the crises would end soon because of the billions of litres of the product in place. The situation rather persist and worsened.

The raging Nigerians have described NNPC’s continuous failed promises as the such lies that are aggravating the fuel situation. According to them, both NNPC and government are never sincere a can’t come clean in the petrol scarcity situation.