There are indications that the fuel scarcity plaguing Nigeria may continue until May 29th 2015 after President Goodluck Jonathan may have handed over power to the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari.
An inside sources at the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) told Shipping Position Daily last week that some members of the association are skeptical that money owed them will be paid by the Buhari administration and that until all their outstanding debts are cleared, they will not lift products.
There are indications that the fuel scarcity plaguing Nigeria may continue until May 29th 2015 after President Goodluck Jonathan may have handed over power to the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari.
An inside sources at the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) told Shipping Position Daily last week that some members of the association are skeptical that money owed them will be paid by the Buhari administration and that until all their outstanding debts are cleared, they will not lift products.
According to him, the scarcity has lingered because government through the fuel marketers are subsidizing the products and also subsidizing the distribution in order to ensure prompt circulation across the country.
Subsequently, in order to ensure proper monitoring and to eliminate fraud in redeeming subsidy claims, the Federal Government had in 2010 introduced ‘project AQCUILA’ a project handled by the Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF)
At the end of a meeting between the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala and the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) last week, scribe of MOMAN, Mr. Femi Olawore confirmed outstanding payment to marketers to be N200 billion.
He also warned that if the amount was not settled within two weeks, the marketers would have no option than to call its members out on another round of strike.
The source who pleaded anonymity however confided in our correspondent that the truck owners’ suspects that Buhari will want to remove fuel subsidy immediately he is sworn in, even as he noted that the body language of the President-elect and his recent comments about returning fuel price to N40 per litre has got stakeholders worried.
“The fear of everybody is that if Buhari government should take over, the money government is owing us will no longer be paid, this money have accumulated, if the rest of the money is paid, things will go back to normal”
“We doubt that the money will be paid especially if Buhari government comes in, he will not pay the money. Buhari said that he wants to make fuel sell for N40, this is not possible unless the subsidy is there and the refineries are working”
Also speaking with our correspondent, a petroleum marketer and Secretary of NUPENG at Tehcno Oil fuel depot in Lagos, Mr. Oward Onwudiwe expressed doubt that the fuel queues will subside any moment soon.
Onwudiwe said that under project AQUILA, it takes N300,000 to transport a tanker of fuel to the Eastern Nigeria and 400,000 to take it to the North, these monies have accumulated and this is what the truck owners are agitating for.
“This money is to ensure that the fuel price remains the same and to ensure that it is sold at the same price, without this the cost of transportation will be high and the product will never remain the same, what made the price of the product to remain the same is because government is subsidizing it”
“We have what is called Aquila, once you are captured the internet will show in their PPMC that you have the tag, this will show that you have supplied the product, they will verify that you supplied it at the right place, after this your money will be processed and paid”
“This is why NARTO is saying that they have not been paid this money and since they are answerable to the marketers, they went together on the strike.” He said.
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