By Odo Ogenyi,Uyo
Chairman of the Task Force on Petroleum in Akwa Ibom Mr Victor Etefia have blamed the recent hike of the commodity on the absence of an NNPC Depot, global economic downturn and absence of other primary sources of fuel in the state.
Etefia who was speaking to newmen in Uyo on the heels of the closure of 14 fuel stations by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) last weekend in the state pleaded with residents for understanding but said that rather than blame fuel marketers in the state for the impasse, they should be applauded for making sacrifices to ensure the availability of the commodity in the area.
The Senior Special Adviser Governor Udom Emmanuel on Petroleum, pointed out that while petrol is sold at more than N400 per litre in surrounding states including the ones with NNPC depots, price of the product have not gone beyond N300 in most petrol stations in the state.
He explained that the primary source of petrol to most stations in Nigeria has collapsed while the secondary source from where many of the marketers source their fuel remained prone to the vagaries of trade.
“First of all we should not domesticate this hike in the price of fuel because it is a national problem.Then as far as this fuel business is concerned Akwa Ibom is locationally disadvantaged because we have 21 NNPC depots across the country and Akwa Ibom has none.
“Cross River has an NNPC Depot and 16 depots with deep water, Rivers has about 18 with deep water, we have five here in Akwa Ibom and we are having problems of their vessels having access to the tank farms.
“So even with the primary source we are disadvantaged, with the secondary source we are also disadvantaged and very unfortunately Akwa Ibom consumes more than any other state in the South South and South East region.
“So once the central supply source or the NNPC distribution chain has a problem, it affects the component units, that is the states. For those people using Calabar as an example, it is only in Calabar Municipal Council that has four Oando Stations and four Conoil stations and many other major big heads that you can queue and get fuel at N200 because they can get and affrod to share to their stations.
“Go to Ikom, Ogoja, Obubra and others and see if you will get fuel at N400. Go to those places and you will applaud marketers in Akwa Ibom for efforts and sacrifices they are making.” Etefia explained.
The chairman also blamed the impasse on the after effects of COVID 19 which impacted negatively on the economy of African nations and the Russian/Ukraine war with it’s impact on the activities of the Black Sea and the Atlantic ocean which were the main fuel supply channel to Nigeria as the country is dependent on imported fuel.
He said that the global pricing system has affected the landing cost of fuel, the allocation system at the depots have not favoured the state while increase in logistics meant that marketers have to squeeze and strategize inorder to make end meet.
“So, the main problem is that the primary source has collapsed and everybody is depending on the secondary source which are the private depot operators and there you hardly can control their prices because they are businessmen.
“It is even a global problem now and we have to accept it the way it is. Prices are prone to the law of demand and supply and for now, the demand is more than the supply. You remember during COVID that people and countries were not even buying crude. I remember that at a time crude oil was cheaper than groundnut oil.
“Also and for instance, the Calabar Depot will have out of the 12m litres it gets with six million allocated to Abuja alone while the five catchment states of Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Abia, Imo and Bayelsa will share six million and on top of that to hire a truck from Calabar to Uyo now costs about N500,000, so you can see the precarious situation that marketers have found themselves in.” He stated.
He absolved the NMDPRA of any blame in the closure of the stations but assured that the matter would be resolved with the managemeny of the agencyag
