Buhari holds meetings with petrol importers in a bid to end fuel scarcity before May 29

PRESIDENT-elect Muhammadu Buhari has been holding discrete talks with petrol importers in the country in a desperate bid to resolve the lingering scarcity of petroleum products across the nation.

 

Over the last month, there has been a chronic scarcity of petroleum produce across Nigeria, leading to long queues at petrol stations. Airports and flights have also been affected as the limited availability of aviation fuel, while the lack of diesel to power generators has resulted in many industries being unable to operate at usual capacity.

 

Keen to resolve the matter before assuming office on May 29, General Buhari has met with Depot and Petroleum Products Marketing Association (Dappma) officials to resolve the crisis. Tokunbo Korodo, the south west chairman of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (Nupeng), said that the discussions centred on the vexed issue of petroleum subsidies.

 

Mr Korodo said: “I think the outcome of that meeting may determine if Dappma will reopen the depots for loading or import more into the country. What I was told was that the independent depot owners may have shut their depots to tanker drivers because of the over N200bn (£637.26m) owed them by the federal government.”

 

He added that the prevailing fuel scarcity may worsen if depot owners shut their depots to tanker drivers. According to Mr Korodo, no tanker driver had loaded petroleum products as of at 1.30 pm yesterday.

 

On May 14, Nigerian petroleum products’ marketers said they would no longer import products except the federal government settles their subsidy claims. Their last meeting with finance minister Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Abuja ended in a deadlock with the government putting the subsidy debt at N131bn while the marketers insisted it was N200bn.