DPR Explains Enugu Fuel Scarcity

The Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has described the scarcity of petrol in Enugu as artificial.

The Tide’s source  reports that many filling stations in Enugu and environs locked their gates to motorists on Wednesday, claiming scarcity of the product.

The few that had stocks raised the price from the normal N65 to N68 and N70 per litre.

The source   reports that at Synco Oil and Micco Oil  at the 9th Mile Corner near Enugu, the product sold at N70 a litre. It was a similar situation at Real Point and Mobil at Abakpa Nike.

Stations like Externa, Oando and Antonio Oils on Enugu-Onitsha dual carriageway had their mini-gates securely locked while attendants who craved anonymity claimed they did not have supplies.

The MRS, (formerly Texaco) and Unipetrol and other multinationals on the same Enugu-Onitsha sold at N68 per litre.

The attendants said the meters were adjusted by their management late last Tuesday but could not say more.

The managers were unavailable when the source called at the stations last Wednesday.

The NNPC Mega Station, Enugu, which was closed to motorists last Tuesday, re-opened on Wednesday and dispensed petrol at the normal N65 per litre.

The source reports that two other NNPC stations at Idaw River Layout and at Abakpa Nike did not have the product.

The DPR Operations Controller for Enugu, Mr Ndy Akpamgbo, told newsmen  that the scarcity could be artificial.

According to him, there is no product scarcity; the lull could be attributed to the long public holidays, which many tanker drivers took advantage of not to lift products.

“With the public holiday over, everything is expected to revert to normal,’’ he said.

Chief Chukwudi Ezinwa, the Chairman of the South East Zone of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), attributed the scarcity to the long holiday.

“There is no scarcity, it is the long holiday, and you know that supplies come from only one source. Things will normalise soon,” he said

Ezinwa, however, alleged that while petrol was still being subsidised, kerosene and diesel had since been deregulated.

“Diesel has been fully deregulated while kerosene is still partially deregulated,” he alleged.