Fuel Scarcity Increases

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, said he was engaging the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on the possibility of making foreign exchange, FOREX, available to oil marketers to enable them continue importation of petrol.

Despite promises to end the lingering fuel scarcity, particularly Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, also called petrol, and with increased product loading activities, Nigerians still queue for long hours to get the scarce commodity.

Three-hundred truckloads of PMS are being distributed to the Lagos area alone daily, while Abuja gets up to 260 truckloads, with a view to easing the scarcity without success. Those who cannot afford the long wait simply get reprieve from the black market at very high cost. It sells at about N200/litre in the black market. 

Similarly, just as power generation rose appreciably since the last lows to 3,098.8 megawatts, MW, yesterday, there was no commensurate increase in electricity supply to homes and businesses, with many parts of the country still wallowing in darkness and generating their own power at almost triple the amount, in view of the current shortages.

Most filling stations remained closed, yesterday, while the few that had the scarce commodity were besieged by a deluge of motorists queuing to get the products.