Oil marketers have given a response to President Muhammadu Buhari, who in a national broadcast on January 1, accused them of being the cause of the current fuel scarcity.
At a meeting with President Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, on Tuesday, the Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, DAPMAN, said the current price of a litre of petol-N145-was no longer sustainable.
Dapo Abiodun, the chairman of DAPMAN, told journalists the association’s position on the matter.
“The situation, from our point of view, is that from January to December, the price of crude remained relatively stable. Following the Hurricane Katrina in the month of September, October, crude prices went up and marketers lost the ability to import any sell at N145 per liter.
“Since the price of crude is directly proportional to the refined product, we could not import petrol and sell at N145 anymore. And this business is a partnership between marketers and NNPC. Marketers being in a certain volume and NNPC also brings in a certain volume.”
He further explained: “In the past marketers bring in about 60% while NNPC brings about 35 to 40 percent. But by the month of October marketers completely stopped importing because there no more subsidy so we can’t sell for profit so we have to stop importing.
“So, the burden of importing 100% now fell on NNPC. So, you can imagine a situation where NNPC was importing in part and marketers were importing in part and then suddenly NNPC begins to import 100%. Couple with the fact that in the months we called the ember months from October to December the consumption of petrol is highest in the country.
“So, you now have what we call a double warning. NNPC is suddenly finding its importing what they probably didn’t expect in terms of volume and the fact that Nigerians themselves are consuming more volume that they will normally consume in earlier months. Couple with the fact that the countries that are surrounding us as a nation are all selling fuel at more than $1 per liter. $1 today is about N360. If you go to Cotonou, Ghana, Niger so is is not unlikely that some of our petrol is finding itself across the body to these countries.
“All these are issues we believe amounted to what we saw in December but thankfully NNPC rose to the occasion, they stepped up import, stepped up supplies that situation has since normalized”.
The consultation on finding a solution to the fuel scarcity is continuing, with a meeting between President Buhari and select members of the oil marketers’ association.
