Petrol Sale Resumes In Rivers …Cause Of Scarcity Resolved

The Rivers State Petroleum Products Monitoring Task Force has assured that normal sale of petrol has been restored in filling stations in the state.

Chairman of the task force, Fobo Fiberesima gave the assurance Monday while speaking to newsmen after three days of fuel scarcity in Port Harcourt.

Said he: “The present fuel situation in the state is due to power failure at the Port Harcourt Refinery, and I wish to inform the public that there is normalcy now and that there is power at the loading point at the moment. I have seen some movement of trucks.”

Fiberesima also said the task force would monitor the sale of petroleum products in all filling stations.

Similarly, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) noted that poor power supply at the Port Harcourt Refinery was responsible for the recent fuel scarcity in the state.

Its chairman, Sunny Mkpeh told The Tide that loading of petroleum products commenced last Monday after the issue was rectified.

“Apparently, what is causing the petroleum scarcity was have now is because in the past few days, there  has been a fault at the Port Harcourt Refinery gas turbine, which has been rectified by yesterday (Sunday).

“As I talk to you now, full loading has commenced and the depot in working now, “so. May be, by the end of today and tomorrow (Monday and Tuesday), normal sales will resume,” he said.

The IPMAN chairman also advised the government to intervene in the situation at the Port Harcourt Refinery to ensure it works at optimum capacity.

“At this moment, we call on the state Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi to please intervene, talk to NNPC and the Federal Government to make crude oil available to the refinery so that we can run and put permanent end to this problem of perennial scarcity of petroleum products and have enough AGO, PMS and DPK.”

He also advised petroleum marketers against selling the product above the pump price of N97.00

Meanwhile, motorists in Port Harcourt have lamented the stress they have been passing through before buying fuel from filling stations since the last weekend.

Some of the motorists, who spoke to The Tide, said they were forced to remain in long queens at filling stations due to the scarcity of fuel in most filling stations.

Some filling station managers, interviewed, however, attributed the scarcity to panic buyers who speculated an increase in the pump price of petrol.

They said there was no increase in the pump price of fuel, adding that there was no plan to increase the pump price of fuel.

Corroborating the views of the petroleum products monitoring task force chairman and IPMAN, the managers said “the fuel scarcity at the weekend was due to power failure at the Port Harcourt Refinery.

The problem has been rectified and we have started normal loading today (Monday). We don’t know where they got their information that we are not loading and that there will be price increase, they said.

Corroborating the state government’s  position, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), blamed the fuel scarcity in Port Harcourt on power failure at the Port Harcourt Refinery.

The IPMAN Chairman, Mr Sunny Nkpe, said in an interview in Port Harcourt yesterday, that the turbines at the refinery developed a fault, a development which led to the disruption of products loading.

Nkpe, however said the problem had been rectified and that the refinery had resumed loading of products.

“The depot is working now. I think, by end of today and tomorrow, these queues would disappear.

“We call on the state government to please intervene and talk to NNPC and Federal Government to make crude oil available to the refinery so that we can run and put permanent end to this perennial scarcity of all the products so that we can have AGO (Diesel), PMS (petrol).

“AGO is what drives the economy; DPK is what poor people use. So if there is no crude oil, the CDU plant would not run and when CDU plant does not run, there won’t be AGO, there won’t be DPK.”

Nkpe, however, condemned the arbitrary increase of the pump price of fuel, saying IPMAN was against it.

“We have compliant unit; this administration under me would not tolerate any member selling products above the approved pump price.

“So our members are well-briefed; they are well-packaged for this mission.

“Once all the products start coming out, of course, the public will see the delivery; it’s going to be efficient and effective.”

Shedie Okpara