Fuel Scarcity Bites Harder …As TUC Accuses Tanker Owners Of Sabotage

Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike (left), congratulating Barrister Harvey Ideozu, after being sworn-in as Special Adviser to the Governor in Government House, Port Harcourt, recently.

Fuel scarcity situation is getting to its crescendo across the country with most filling stations in the oil-rich Rivers State being shut down for lack of products.
Our Correspondent who monitored the development reports that in the few stations selling, long fuel queues have become the order of the day.
At Oando Petrol Station in Mile 111, Port Harcourt, attendants shut their gates from motorists only selling to jerry-can carrying black marketers.
One of the marketers told The Tide that before they sell to us, we pay N4,000 per 20 litre jerry-can.
Chibor Onwuamaegbu, a bus driver said, “I have been here for the past two hours but they wouldn’t sell to us. They sell only to the black marketers who re-sell to us at the cost of N250 per litre”.
The scarcity could be said to be ravaging across the country today, but the case of Rivers State started about three weeks ago when NUPENG and PENGASSAN embarked on a state wide strike following an industrial dispute between oil workers and the management of WEATHER FORD Nigeria Limited.
Though the State government intervened and got the strike suspended pending the outcome of a negotiation between the company and leadership of the two oil unions, the tanker drivers, national Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) commenced nationwide strike over the deplorable condition of refinery roads across Nigeria.
To worsen the situation, private tank owners have been accused of by Marketers of hoarding and selling above official price thereby causing artificial scarcity across the nation.
Motorists in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital spend several hours on the long queues struggling to buy petrol due to scarcity of the product allegedly caused by marketers who hoard petrol over non-payment of subsidy funds.
Chairman, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mr. Sunny Nkpe said the association was yet to feel the impact of the recent payment of N413 billion outstanding money to depot owners by the Federal Government.
Nkpe however, said the union has commenced the implementation of an intervention measure to cushion the impact of the current scarcity of the products in the state.
Meanwhile the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Rivers State, expressed serious worry over the continued determination of the private depot owners to starve Rivers people of petroleum products, and worsen the hardship faced by the people.
In a statement in Port Harcourt, Saturday the state Chairman, TUC, Comrade Chika Onuegbu alleged that “currently, they have shut their depots and only sell at nights at exorbitant prices.”
The statement, a copy of which was made available to The Tide, called “on the DPR, law enforcement agencies and the Rivers State Government to enforce the law by ensuring that the depots are open and that the available products are released to petroleum marketers, including IPMAN since President Buhari has approved about N413billion subsidy payment backlog.
“It is, indeed, shameful that this cartel will subject Nigerians and Rivers people to excruciating pains just because they want to make super profit despite government’s intervention,” Onuegbu stated.
The on-going scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit also known as petrol is biting harder in the country as users are forced to pay far above the recommended price of N87 per litre in most of the filling stations that sell the product, our correspondent has learnt.
Investigations  also revealed that petrol now sells in some states as high as N400 per litre while in others it goes for between N110 and N200.
However, some filling stations as at press time on Saturday, according to our correspondents, still sold the product at the official price of N87 per litre. These filling stations, findings showed, were, however, few and inundated with long queues of motorists, motorcyclists and other users.
In Cross River State, a litre of petrol was sold for as high as N400 in Calabar and environs on Saturday morning.
Tanker drivers across the state and beyond had on Monday refused to load the product from the Calabar Depot in protest of the deplorable situation of federal roads in the state.
As at the time of filing this report, most service stations had yet to commence the sale of the product to the public. Black marketers had continued to have a field day.
Many petrol stations in Akwa Ibom State, particularly those in Ibesikpo/Asutan, Eket, and Itu Local Government Areas on Saturday sold petrol at N200 per litre.
In Uyo, the State capital, while the price fluctuated between N170 and N180 per litre, motorists said many of the filling stations had adjusted their metres regardless of the amount they pay for buying fuel.
In Ondo State, long queues of vehicles persisted in many filling stations in many towns on Saturday even as many of them sold petrol at N120 per litre.
In Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, there were long queues at filling stations on Saturday especially those owned by major marketers.
A litre of petrol was being sold between N100 and N110 depending on the distance of the area to the state capital.
In Enugu State, petrol was sold between N130 and N150 per litre. Our correspondent, who bought the commodity at the cost of N140 per litre in the state capital on Saturday, learnt that the product was being offered to motorists for N150 in other filling stations.
In Oyo State, fuel scarcity reached a height as few vehicles plied the roads.
More than 85 per cent of major oil marketers were not selling the product while a few independent oil marketers sold for between N110 and N120 per litre.
The queues by motorists for petrol continued on Saturday in some filling stations in Abuja and Nasarawa State.
All petrol stations visited in Abuja on Saturday sold at the regulated price, but most were not open for business as they claimed not to have products.
In Benue State, the NNPC Mega filling station along Oturkpo road where the queue for the product was over four kilometres long. It was the only fuel station selling at the official pump price of N87 per litre.
Meanwhile, black marketers have taken over the town as they sold at N200 and N250 per litre.
Investigations by our correspondent, who went round some parts of Nassarawa State, observed that it was only the NNPC mega station that sold at N87 per litre while others sold at N160 per.
In Bayelsa State, particularly Yenagoa, the state capital, a few filling stations that were selling the product on Saturday sold a litre of petrol between N130 and N150.
The NNPC mega filling stations in the Yenagoa metropolis were the only ones selling at the government regulated price of N87 but the queues were very long.
A litre of PMS was sold for N100 in many filling stations in Ogun State except NNPC stations and those of major marketers on Saturday.
In Osogbo, the Osun State capital and other parts of the state, petrol was sold at N110 per litre.
In Lagos, our correspondent learnt on Saturday that while the NNPC and major marketers sold at N87, black marketers sold five litres of petrol at N600.