Acute Nationwide Scarcity: Operators Blame Govt. As Black Market Booms

Even as the federal  government is yet  to find any workable solution to the perennial fuel scarcity which has crippled social and economic activities in the country, the hierarchy of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and its senior colleague; the Senior staff Association of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers Union (PENGASSAN)  has blamed the situation on the failure of government to provide adequate crude oil refinery facilities and ensure availability of petroleum product.
Similarly, a member of the union Comrade Owolabi Jimoh who is based in Apapa who spoke with Shipping Position Weekly toed the line of argument of his union saying that “the government should build more refineries and stop depending on old ones that have stopped working, even the ones that have stopped working should be repaired and made to function properly while adequate security should be provided to secure the pipelines”.
But adding a new dimension to the condemnation, a marketer who also spoke with our correspondent under anonymity stated that “the government can not remove subsidy and continue to regulate the price of petroleum products even as the landing cost is high, the exchange rate of dollars has increased, and they still expect marketers to sell at a particular price, which is what the protest is all about” he stated.
He also went further to say that the situation will linger some more and the cost of petrol might go higher if the government does not find means of curbing it now.
Meanwhile, investigations carried out by our correspondence last Friday in Lagos revealed that the scarcity may linger for a longer period because out of all the depots operating at the Apapa, Ibafon and Kirikiri axis of Lagos, only Capital Oil, AP and MRS Oil and Gas are currently supplying petroleum products.
Also, other depots have decided to ration what they have to only their retail outlets around the country. A source at the Ibafon jetty told Shipping Position Weekly that some filling stations like:  Conoil, Ascon Oil and Texaco are supplied one truck per week.
The scarcity has however been a source of booming business for black market sellers as a litter of petrol sells for about N150 at the black markets in Lagos as at last weekend.