Fuel scarcity during Christmas, deliberate sabotage — CAN

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQTZIjOxxLDXwwkp79wXbeful3BoHe-eIASuvxDeJodoGH1QyDGNmd9LlZlrMyUhtJa8HkaiWa9y08JpECXbrTX0L555KBG757BhcZSqLAjnrGIYpvgRc1t_PIlILiy2iR4RHd3A6TN4dG/s640/Fuel_Scarcity_Abuja.jpg" width="640" /></div> <br /> <br /> The Christian Association of Nigeria has expressed worry over the resurfacing of long queues at filling stations across the country during the Christmas holiday.<br /> <br /> <a id="more" name="more"></a><br /> <br /> The Director, Legal and Public Affairs, CAN, Evang. Kwamkur Samuel, in a statement on Saturday, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to restore normalcy immediately.<br /> <br /> Samuel said, “CAN is worried about the resurfacing of long queues at filling stations in Nigeria, after several increases in fuel price to ensure the availability of the product to all citizens.<br /> <br /> “We are not only concerned that this seeming artificial scarcity happens mostly during Christmas period. We are also disturbed that everything is looking like an attempt to deliberately sabotage the celebration of Christmas by some people. We wonder why queues would suddenly resurface after all assurances and steps have been taken towards constant availability of petroleum product.<br /> <br /> “We want to call on President Muhammadu Buhari, the Ministry of Petroleum (Resources), and other relevant stakeholders to take decisive measures towards ensuring that fuel is made available and accessible to all citizens within the shortest possible time at controlled price.”<br /> <br /> CAN also asked the President to fish out anyone involved in “this sabotage” and sanction them accordingly.<br /> <br /> It added, “Christmas season does not just happen; it is a worldwide annual celebration that is known to everyone. For authorities to behave like the season came suddenly and fail to take necessary measures to control the activities of saboteurs is unacceptable to the Church.<br /> <br /> “We deeply view the negligence of relevant authorities to ensure fuel availability to citizens as deliberate and an attempt to exploit the citizens and particularly Christians who travel distances for the celebration.”<br /> <br /> According to CAN, the holiday is supposed to be a period when prices of goods and services are reduced to the minimum because of the high level of patronage.<br /> <br /> The Christian body commended Nigerians, especially travellers, for accepting to bear the “unnecessary” pain.<br /> <br /> The group prayed that the burdens would be lessened and the year would record one of the best Christmas celebrations.<br /> <br /> “As we celebrate, let us all be security-conscious and remember the persecuted church in Adamawa, Kaduna, Borno and all other parts of Nigeria in our prayers and gifts.<br /> <br /> “May we never forget to celebrate this Christmas with the reason for the season — the birth of the saviour of the world, Jesus Christ our Lord. Merry Christmas to all Nigerians and a prosperous New Year,” it added.

Latest-News Fuel scarcity during Christmas, deliberate sabotage — CAN

The Christian Association of Nigeria has expressed worry over the resurfacing of long queues at filling stations across the country durin...

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We can no longer import, sell fuel at N145/litre — Marketers lament

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkBJrpSF0RyzyZTydqpagCDIQJaZe2Xya0mk3W1Fdg_I3oQ68B9GWq66XcQ5EQqMoSV6PjhvzOuFGHXjfkumpMJz_SUxhNG76xQWBjAAlquuZ_FhGlrGYKMQyZCZG846W2jfMqACjOF4j/s640/fuel+scarcity+kegs.jpg" width="640" /></div> <br /> Against the latest round of fuel scarcity rocking many parts of the country, private oil marketers are calling for government intervention to enable them to access foreign exchange at a special rate for the importation of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol).<br /> <a id="more" name="more"></a><br /> <br /> According to them, selling the product at N145 per litre is no longer feasible with the current exchange rate.<br /> <br /> Private marketers stopped fuel importation last year due to shortage of foreign exchange and increase in crude prices, which they said had made it unprofitable to import petrol and sell same at N145 per litre.<br /> <br /> The National Operations Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Mike Osatuyi, said, “The problem is that the importation (of petrol) is being handled almost 100 per cent by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation as private importers have backed out because the increase in crude price has made the landing cost enter subsidy.<br /> <br /> “When the crude price hit $59 per barrel, we could not sell petrol again at N145 per litre if we were importing on our own. It is only the government (NNPC) that is importing and can warehouse the subsidy.”<br /> <br /> He said the government through the Central Bank of Nigeria should have intervened by providing foreign exchange at a special rate solely for the PMS importation for both the NNPC and private importers.<br /> <br /> Osatuyi said, “Right now, the landing cost of the PMS is N154. If you are importing at N305 to the dollar, by the time you add bank charges, it comes to N307 to the dollar. If you apply that to the current crude price, the landing cost is N154-N155. By the time you add all the margins, the pump price is about N160-N167.<br /> <br /> “Before private importers can resume importation, the exchange rate to a dollar must be N250 and we can sell at the price of N145 per litre.”<br /> <br /> Commenting on the forex challenge, the Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Obafemi Olawore, also said, “I am told that some people have special rates. If they do, fine; let them give to us also. We will prefer a situation where we have access to forex exchange and we can import.”<br /> <br /> The Executive Secretary, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association, Mr. Olufemi Adewole, in a telephone interview with our correspondent earlier in the month, noted that the increase in price of crude oil had led to a corresponding increase in the prices of refined products.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> “Landing cost of the PMS today has increased. By the time we land the product based on the international crude oil prices, petrol should be selling for between N165 and N170 per litre. But government is saying we should sell at N145. So, if there is no subsidy, we have to depend on the NNPC to give us the product,” he said.<br /> <br /> A top official of a Lagos-based oil marketing company told our correspondent on condition of anonymity, “Unless government gives another ceiling price, it will not be good to sell at the current price if you import now. It is expensive to import now. Some people who have customers they don’t want to lose can just do small imports.”<br /> <br /> Analysts at FBNQuest Capital, in an emailed note on Friday, said improved forex liquidity had led to some relief for players within the downstream sector.<br /> <br /> “Initially, oil marketers depended solely on the parallel market for their forex requirements. However, there is now better access via the CBN’s official windows. Furthermore, over the past year, the naira has appreciated considerably on the parallel market, making PMS importation relatively affordable for marketers that still source forex from that market,” they added.<br /> <br /> Several stakeholders, including the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, have expressed concerns about the current state of the nation’s downstream petroleum sector, especially a situation whereby the NNPC has become the sole importer of the product into the country.<br /> <br /> The Director General, LCCI, Mr. Muda Yusuf, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, said, “It’s unfortunate that fuel queues have returned. But there is a very fundamental problem with our petroleum downstream sector, and the problem is that it is over-regulated. You cannot have a sector as big as that serving our size of population and we expect only the government provider to be supplying fuel. It is not a sustainable model.<br /> <br /> “So, there is an urgent need to push back the role of government in the issue of retailing fuel, importing fuel and all of that. Right now, it is only the NNPC that is importing the PMS. Such a thing cannot be efficient; it creates room for all manner of abuses; some of which the marketers cannot disclose because of their own businesses.”<br /> <br /> He said the private sector should be allowed to play a bigger role in importation, refining, distribution, marketing and other activities in the downstream sector.<br /> <br /> Following the severe fuel scarcity the country experienced in the first quarter and parts of second quarter of last year, the Federal Government on May 11, 2016 increased the price of petrol to N145 per litre from N86, putting an end to fuel subsidy to marketers, in what was described as partial liberalisation of the sector.<br /> <br /> The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, recently noted that the non-availability of forex and the inability of marketers to open letters of credit had then forced them to stop importation.<br /> <br /> He said the NNPC was forced to take up the obligation of providing more than 90 per cent of the domestic requirement to cover the demand for petroleum products, adding, “The NNPC was not designed to provide this kind of service. Historically, the NNPC had done an average of 48 per cent of Nigeria’s fuel requirement.”

Latest-News We can no longer import, sell fuel at N145/litre — Marketers lament

Against the latest round of fuel scarcity rocking many parts of the country, private oil marketers are calling for government intervention...

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Fuel scarcity: We empathize with Nigerians - APC

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-6Cpzxz1lyrlUJuYeEQiATiWQCvOZoZN2lPgne17SqnUY3lMFOfz87KJHyQTouo8uheCktC05DGSh-RzepRTd5Pc7sAX7VGku94AGSc7kzQgb-TsVS3dtyQo-owbVHy1C8lf-pCl4TYne/s1600/APC-LOGO-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1442" data-original-width="1600" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-6Cpzxz1lyrlUJuYeEQiATiWQCvOZoZN2lPgne17SqnUY3lMFOfz87KJHyQTouo8uheCktC05DGSh-RzepRTd5Pc7sAX7VGku94AGSc7kzQgb-TsVS3dtyQo-owbVHy1C8lf-pCl4TYne/s320/APC-LOGO-17.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <br /> The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday appealed to Nigerians to be patient with the federal government as it addresses the biting fuel scarcity in the country.<br /> <br /> <a id="more" name="more"></a><br /> <br /> The party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi in Abuja, acknowledged the “difficulties Nigerians are currently experiencing as a result of the unfortunate fuel scarcity across the country; especially at this Yuletide period.”<br /> <br /> It said it was also aware of government’s efforts to “improve the situation and bring succour to the people as soon as possible,” and fully understood “the unhappiness of Nigerians at this situation, which is happening for the first time in the Christmas period since the APC administration came to power.”<br /> <br /> Noting the choice of the PDP to “make political gains out of the difficulties that Nigerians are experiencing as a result of this fuel scarcity,” the APC however condemned what it called the opposition party’s “desperation to make the government and our party look bad by maliciously fabricating and circulating fictitious statements in the names of our government and party officials and then attack us on the basis of those same statements that they fabricated in the first place. This is bad politics.”<br /> <br /> Abdullahi said the problem of fuel scarcity “has bedevilled every administration in our country, including the PDP administration under whose government, Nigerians would recall, the oil cabal enjoyed unprecedented prosperity.”

Latest-News Fuel scarcity: We empathize with Nigerians - APC

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday appealed to Nigerians to be patient with the federal government as it addresses the b...

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Police Commissioner warns Nigerians - 'Those wrapped Xmas gifts could turn out to be parcel bombs'

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8FBvzp10PGDqgadcahSwSd6oWUpkseCjJ9KGOFaDrSXSD24uwQv3-4a4a2GKp1uE0iuO2l6amK8iIucLLSc5fq2ttVdPk5fAUc5eVq46iq74sncqyG-n2mfsQPyLjydzNeg9Zem85MIAX/s1600/police-logo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="789" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8FBvzp10PGDqgadcahSwSd6oWUpkseCjJ9KGOFaDrSXSD24uwQv3-4a4a2GKp1uE0iuO2l6amK8iIucLLSc5fq2ttVdPk5fAUc5eVq46iq74sncqyG-n2mfsQPyLjydzNeg9Zem85MIAX/s400/police-logo1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> The Commissioner of Police in Niger State, Mr Dibal Yakadi, wants Nigerians to watch wrapped gifts from strangers during the Christmas and New Year festivities.<br /> <br /> <a id="more" name="more"></a><br /> <br /> Such gifts, according to him, could turn out to be parcel bombs and dangerous if opened.<br /> <br /> Yakadi who spoke in an interview in Minna, also urged people to be security conscious, especially while attending public functions during and after festivities.<br /> <br /> He said the command had already taken proactive security measures to deal with threats to peace before, during and after the Yuletide.<br /> <br /> “We will continue to utilize the avenues of intelligence-led policing, community, visibility policing as well as constant intelligence-led raid on criminal hideouts,’’ he said.<br /> <br /> He asked residents to provide useful information on suspicious movements of people, saying this would assist security officials to apprehend criminals at the planning stages of their activities.<br /> <br /> “We are battle ready to deal with any form of security threats to enable people celebrate the festivities in a peaceful atmosphere,’’ he said, and urged officers and men of the command to continue to put in their best as hard working ones would be rewarded, while the indolent personnel would be sanctioned accordingly.

Latest-News Police Commissioner warns Nigerians - 'Those wrapped Xmas gifts could turn out to be parcel bombs'

The Commissioner of Police in Niger State, Mr Dibal Yakadi, wants Nigerians to watch wrapped gifts from strangers during the Christmas an...

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Critics of anti-corruption war are treasury looters - Lai Mohammed

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="306" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigXI1M1RjCW-dlBChcdjAqjgsLYaZj6DCR5oBSOZGM5ZjJMBWcluFAu50wMRxawBMQ6XSNijblfEyDsk2DwcbY-MItvRbw7ckrpjjuZJmfrYN1MQDVZfKqRtLSmn9_DuXH1eeAjAOYytQM/s400/lai+mohammed.jpg" width="400" /></div> <br /> <br /> I commend those behind the formation of the Anti-Corruption Situation Room (ACSR). I understand they include civil society organisations, media groups and government agencies.<br /> <a id="more" name="more"></a><br /> <br /> The essence, I am told, is not just to promote transparency and accountability in government but also to ensure that the people take ownership of the fight against corruption.<br /> <br /> For us in government, this is music to our ears. Music to our ears because we have been saying that the fight against corruption is not Buhari’s fight, neither is it APC’s fight.<br /> <br /> It is Nigeria’s fight. This means all Nigerians must take possession of this war if we are to win it. The courageous and patriotic minds behind the Anti-Corruption Situation Room have taken the first critical step to ensure that Nigerians buy into this war.<br /> <br /> I thank the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) and its partners for coming up with the ACSR. I appeal to more civil society organizations to join this initiative. Unless there is a collaboration that involves the government, the media, CSOs and others, this fight will be tougher than it should be.<br /> <br /> Mr. Olanrewju Suraju, Chairman of HEDA Resource Centre, puts it most succinctly when he said, and I quote: “The central thrust is to build synergy between anti-corruption CSOs, the labor movement and law enforcement agencies, the parliament and the judiciary as a means of improving and broadening the anti-corruption agenda as well as creating an accountability loop and feedback mechanism between anti-corruption agencies, the civil society organizations and the citizens”.<br /> <br /> The ACSR could not have come at a better time. The Buhari Administration’s fight against corruption is gaining momentum, and the government is winning the war. But there is a challenge: there seems to be a feeling of numbness among the citizens about the conduct of those whose actions brought us here, those who looted the national treasury dry.<br /> <br /> Suddenly, these same people are engaging in revisionist history and blaming everyone but themselves for the mess their actions put the country into.<br /> <br /> Those who turned our treasury to their piggy bank are once again presenting themselves as the saviours of the nation. They say the best time for Nigeria was when the proceeds of their corruption subsidized many and gave the illusion of economic boom.<br /> <br /> They are so emboldened as to say Nigerians are earnestly yearning for them. No contrition. No apologies. No shame. Just sheer bravado. Unbridled arrogance. Revisionism.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> The civil society, the media and indeed all Nigerians owe it a duty not to allow Nigerians to forget, to say ‘Never Again’ to those who view Nigeria as nothing but a cash cow to be milked to death.<br /> <br /> How can we ever forget? The 2.1 billion dollars meant to buy weapons for the Nigerian military to fight Boko Haram was turned into a slush fund by a few, causing the war to fester and hundreds of troops to die. How can we ever forget that we spent billions of dollars on power only to have just 2,690 megawatts, which was what we inherited when we assumed office 29 May 2015?<br /> <br /> Why is it that despite the billions of naira supposedly spent on roads by successive administrations, what we inherited are death traps. Why did we inherit an economy in dire straits? Nigeria sold oil at over 100 dollars per barrel for years, but the proceeds were either looted or frittered away.<br /> <br /> Yet, this Administration has decided to take the bull by the horns, rather than sit back and lament. That is why we are fighting corruption headlong. It is the toughest of the three cardinal programmes of this administration, but we are determined to win the fight, and we are winning, even when corruption is fighting back fast and furious.<br /> <br /> Because we are tackling corruption, we have succeeded in raising power generation from 2,690 to an all-time high of 7,001MW. Because we are tackling corruption, we are saving 25 billion Naira monthly by cutting unnecessary allowances of officials.<br /> <br /> Because we are tackling corruption, we have added 500 million dollars to our Sovereign Wealth Fund that stagnated at the 1-billion-dollar that was used to set it up.<br /> <br /> We have raised our foreign reserves from 23 billion dollars to 38 billion dollars. We have stopped the payment of phantom subsidy of between 800 billion and 1.3 trillion Naira.<br /> <br /> We recovered at least 43 million dollars and 56 houses from just one official of the immediate past administration. We have recovered 2.9 billion dollars from looters so far. Our Whistle-blower policy has led to the recovery of 151 million dollars and N8 billion in looted funds from just three sources.<br /> <br /> Our sincere and full implementation of the Treasury Single Account, or TSA, has yielded 3 trillion naira, almost half of the estimated revenue in the 2018 budget. With the elimination of thousands of ghost workers, we have saved 120 billion naira.<br /> <br /> We have eliminated the 108 billion naira in maintenance fees payable to banks, pre-TSA.<br /> <br /> We can go on and on, reeling out the successes from our fight against corruption.<br /> <br /> It is noteworthy that we have achieved all these and more without having all the stakeholders fully on board in the fight against corruption. Imagine how far we would have gone if all hands have been on deck.<br /> <br /> That is why we are delighted at the launch of the Anti-Corruption Situation Room, which we believe will definitely ensure that more and more Nigerians buy into this war.<br /> <br /> Once Nigerians take possession of the war, there will be no more hiding place for the corrupt. Those accusing the administration of engaging in a selective anti-corruption fight will be exposed for who they are: apologists for treasury looters!<br /> <br /> I congratulate the various groups that have come together to form the ACSR. It is our fervent hope that this will be a game changer in the efforts to ensure that Nigerians take possession of the war against corruption, thus galvanizing the anti-corruption war.<br /> <i><br /> Excerpts from speech by Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed at the launch of the Anti-Corruption Situation Room (ACSR)</i>

Latest-News Critics of anti-corruption war are treasury looters - Lai Mohammed

I commend those behind the formation of the Anti-Corruption Situation Room (ACSR). I understand they include civil society organisations,...

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Trump insults Nigerians - 'You need to stop leaving your huts to come to America'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAP5E9DaLK55NDgkDS0CyCtvVGypTIak3L6Q3mecqXb_gdS_dGjyhjQsz2eR4_cZWn01o7lDSDh9nirxSNEo13movQEnv3deNysjTrdE3nd2Zw84OMPz8_dJRmu6f1ei3Np7NEPOp6VN96/s1600/trump+e.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="393" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAP5E9DaLK55NDgkDS0CyCtvVGypTIak3L6Q3mecqXb_gdS_dGjyhjQsz2eR4_cZWn01o7lDSDh9nirxSNEo13movQEnv3deNysjTrdE3nd2Zw84OMPz8_dJRmu6f1ei3Np7NEPOp6VN96/s320/trump+e.png" width="320" /></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trump</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <br /> The American President, Donald Trump surely does not have much regards for Nigerians?<br /> <br /> Going by a special report yesterday by the authoritative New York Times on the style of the American leader.<br /> <a id="more" name="more"></a><br /> <br /> The newspaper, in the report on Trump’s harsh immigration policy, described how he denigrated Nigerians at a meeting with his officials at a meeting in June.<br /> <br /> The meeting had been called to discuss the immigration policy which he had introduced to stop travellers from several Muslim countries from entering the United States in a dramatic demonstration of how he would deliver on his campaign promise to fortify the nation’s borders.<br /> <br /> The policy was later voided by the court.<br /> <br /> Trump was said to have hit the roof after he was handed a list of foreigners who had been granted visas to enter the U.S. in 2017.<br /> <br /> Forty thousand of such were Nigerians.<br /> <br /> A fuming Trump, according to officials present at the meeting, said once they had seen the US they would never “go back to their huts” in Africa.<br /> <br /> He also had unkind words for Haitians who had sent 15,000 people.<br /> <br /> They “all have AIDS,” he reportedly grumbled.<br /> <br /> He branded Afghanistan, which had 2,500 of its citizens getting US visa, a terrorist haven.<br /> <br /> The NYT said: “As the meeting continued, John F. Kelly, then the secretary of homeland security, and Rex W. Tillerson, the secretary of state, tried to interject, explaining that many were short-term travellers making one-time visits. But as the president continued, Mr. Kelly and Mr. Miller turned their ire on Mr. Tillerson, blaming him for the influx of foreigners and prompting the secretary of state to throw up his arms in frustration. If he was so bad at his job, maybe he should stop issuing visas altogether, Mr. Tillerson fired back.<br /> <br /> “Tempers flared and Mr. Kelly asked that the room be cleared of staff members. But even after the door to the Oval Office was closed, aides could still hear the president berating his most senior advisers.”<br /> <br /> The White House swiftly responded to the publication yesterday, saying Trump had not used such language although it did not dispute the thrust of the conversation in question.<br /> <br /> Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said : “General Kelly, General McMaster, Secretary Tillerson, Secretary Nielsen and all other senior staff actually in the meeting deny these outrageous claims. It’s both sad and telling The New York Times would print the lies of their anonymous ‘sources’ anyway.”

Latest-News Trump insults Nigerians - 'You need to stop leaving your huts to come to America'

Trump The American President, Donald Trump surely does not have much regards for Nigerians? Going by a special report yesterday...

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President Buhari rejects marketers’ demand for fuel price increase

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil50bnwK9SpSkiRRmPubM82LCXBsrovXYxA45s2AHcho-Nau3CtnfR9jG-fzgy3-pwKS2208sEHt3_rZLBaNM5GfaEQ-vjlld1i0G0MQgEXAXvTz5LNzooeLr6JcDjKiYZNvoSBGGWTqOy/s1600/buhari+kachikwu+145+fuel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="412" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil50bnwK9SpSkiRRmPubM82LCXBsrovXYxA45s2AHcho-Nau3CtnfR9jG-fzgy3-pwKS2208sEHt3_rZLBaNM5GfaEQ-vjlld1i0G0MQgEXAXvTz5LNzooeLr6JcDjKiYZNvoSBGGWTqOy/s640/buhari+kachikwu+145+fuel.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> A subtle move by marketers for the federal government to increase fuel price appears to have failed.<br /> <br /> President Muhammadu Buhari is not disposed to the proposal.<br /> <a id="more" name="more"></a><br /> <br /> He is also saying No to the re-introduction of fuel subsidy, sources said.<br /> <br /> The pressure on government to effect a rise in petroleum price from N145 per litre is coming amidst the current acute fuel scarcity across the country.<br /> <br /> Hundreds of thousands of motorists, for the fifth day running yesterday, kept searching for petrol wherever they could get it at any cost.<br /> <br /> Commuters, many of whom went shopping for Christmas, were made to pay high fares for transport to their destinations.<br /> <br /> Many others had to walk long distances.<br /> <br /> Well placed government sources said the administration is concentrating on finding permanent solutions to the recurring fuel crisis including checkmating sabotage by some marketers and stakeholders, and putting all the nation’s 23 depots in 100 per cent shape.<br /> <br /> It was gathered that marketers are still unwilling to import products because of low or insignificant profit margin.<br /> <br /> They are seeking full deregulation of petroleum products.<br /> <br /> Key players in the petroleum industry attribute the fuel crisis in the country to agitation for price hike by marketers, disruption of the supply chain, and sabotage by some stakeholders to force the government to deregulate the sector further.<br /> <br /> One of the sources said: “The key issue is price war. The marketers have made representation to the federal government and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu to allow price hike of petroleum products and leave the sector to market forces.<br /> <br /> “The President and senior government officials are however opposed to price hike because of its spiral effects on the socio-economic life of the nation. It also has grave political implications for the survival of the present government.<br /> <br /> “In the last few months, the government has been trying to cope through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) until there was stress in the supply chain following threats by PENGASSAN and the challenge in Lagos.”<br /> <br /> Another stakeholder, speaking on the price war, said: “We import refined products as a nation. Once the prices of crude increase at the international market, they have effects on the cost of refined products being brought into our country.<br /> <br /> “The landing cost of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) is between N165 and N170 per litre. The marketers are claiming that the profit margin is insignificant and they cannot recover cost, they say they need to top up prices since they no longer enjoy subsidy.<br /> <br /> “Initially, the same marketers said they had subsidy arrears to collect from the government and they will not import products. The arrears have not been appropriated for by the National Assembly and there was nothing the government can do.”<br /> <br /> But a government source said: “To mitigate the issues raised by the marketers, this administration put some measures in place. For instance, the government created a special foreign exchange window for the marketers to enable them to import products.<br /> <br /> “Instead of using the forex, some of them diverted it to other use. In order not to hold the nation into ransom by the marketers, NNPC in the last one and a half years has been importing 99.9% of products. This sole importation also drains the resources of NNPC but it has to sacrifice to ensure availability of products.<br /> <br /> “And if NNPC imports, it sells to marketers but they are still complaining of low profit margin. The importation chain has its own stress because for the storage of the products, NNPC can only accommodate 55% of the products. The oil majors cater for 30% and independent marketers take charge of about 15%. So, at any point, these marketers are still needed.<br /> <br /> “The alternative is for all the nation’s 23 depots to be operating at maximum capacity to check the antics of the marketers.”<br /> <br /> A minister, who should know, also said the government was suspecting sabotage by some stakeholders.<br /> <br /> His words: “Before the present crisis, the nation used to consume between 30million to 35million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) daily but since this current challenge started, the consumption has shot up to 80million litres per day.<br /> <br /> “Without a soothsayer, it is obvious that something had gone wrong. We cannot just rule out sabotage including diversion of products.”

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