Fuel scarcity gets messier as depot run out of stock

By Adewale Sanyaolu

Fuel queues on Monday persisted in parts of Lagos State following the decision of some members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) to shutdown their operations.

Mr Akin Akinrinade, Chairman, IPMAN, Lagos Satellite Depot, Ejigbo, who confirmed the development to newsmen in Lagos said they took the decision because they could no longer continue to operate at a loss.

Akinrinade said while the government had fixed N165 per litre as the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), current realities in the market showed that the minimum product retail price should be at the stations should be N180.

According to him, the current scarcity being witnessed in Lagos is because majority of petrol stations in the state are owned by IPMAN members who are finding it difficult to operate in a hostile environment.

He said: “As you can see, the queues are back and this is the second time we are witnessing it this year. “However, this one is peculiar in the sense that for a particular reason, IPMAN members decided to shut their stations.

“This is not because we are on strike, but because we can no longer do business under this condition.”

Akinrinade said IPMAN members ought to be getting supply from the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) and had made payments of over N1 billion since October 2021.

He said the products were yet to be delivered forcing them to patronise private depots for products while at the same time servicing loans borrowed from banks for their money with PPMC.