By Our Reporter
Nigerians may be in for further hardship as there could be no end in sight for the lingering fuel crisis that has caused illegal and uncontrolled increase in pump price for at least another two weeks
This is as the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, has noted that the current scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, p may last for two more weeks.
The Public Relations Officer of IPMAN, Chinedu Ukadike, who gave the shocking news on Sunday while reacting to the lingering scarcity of the product which has affected movement and transportation in many states, insisted that the product is currently not available in the country, saying it is a challenge sourcing it because most refineries in Europe are undergoing turnaround maintenance.
This is contrary to the earlier statement by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) which claimed that the scarcity was caused by logistics problems which it said has been resolved
Explaining why the scarcity will persist, Ukadike said; “Once there is a breach in the international supply chain, it will have an impact on domestic supply because we depend on imports.
“I also have it on good authority that most of the refineries in Europe are undergoing turnaround maintenance, so sourcing petroleum products has become a bit difficult.
“NNPC Group CEO has assured us that there will be improvement in the supply chain because their vessels are arriving.
“Once that is done, normalcy will return. This is because once the 30-day supply sufficiency is disrupted, it takes two to three months to restore it”, he said.
Ukadike also blamed the Nigerian Mainstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) for the acute scarcity of the product, stressing that the importation bottlenecks and the pace at which they renew marketers’ licence has contributed much to the crisis.
