Scarcity: Independent marketers refuse to load petrol

Independent oil marketers have stopped loading petrol, because they are aggrieved that the Federal Government has ignored them in the recent payment of subsidy arrears.This emerged from enquiries by our correspondent into the reason for the long queues of motorists at filling stations despite the payment of N154bn to the marketers by the government last week.Our correspondent gathered that some filling stations were still selling the product above the regulated price of N87 per litre.The Chairman, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, Lagos Zone, Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo, in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Wednesday said, “The problem is this: the major marketers are loading what they have at hand. They are also making threats to the government that the balance of their money should be paid at the agreed date, which is two weeks after the firstpayment.“The independent marketers are seriously aggrieved; they accused the government of being partial by only paying the major marketers. They too have locked up their tank farms against tanker drivers. So, they are not loading.”He said the Federal Government should urgently settle the independents marketers in order to ensure adequate supply of fuel, adding that what was being sold currently was only coming from the major marketers.“We expect the government to call the independent marketers too and to come to a conclusion on the amount involved and the modality of payment,” Korodo added.He said the meeting between the Minister of Finance and the representatives of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria on Monday failed to ascertain the actual outstanding subsidy arrears to be paid to the marketers.He added, “As they refused to tell journalists the actual figure after the meeting, they also refused to tell any other person.“But I believe it was deadlocked. With the traces I am seeing, it shows that there was a deadlock. But they are still hoping and waiting patiently for the deadline they had first agreed on.”The Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Thomas Olawore, had on Sunday said that the government had paid N154.2bn out of the N354.4bn it owed theindependent and major marketers as well as the depot owners, leaving a balance of N200.2bn.But the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said the figure could not be correct, noting that the balance that was left based on the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency’s template was about N131bn.Korodo, however, said, “This is an act of irresponsiveness. We expect them to have had an understanding of the total sum by now. Is it after the part payment that they are now talking of the balance?“If the marketers say the government is owingthem an amount, they should show proof to back it up. The government should also show its own proof.”Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer, relies on importation for most of its fuel needs as the country’s refineries are in a poor state. The bulk of the petrol consumed in the country is imported by marketers who are paid subsidy by the government.Last week, the country experienced a severe petrol scarcity triggered by the delay in the payment of subsidy arrears to the marketers.At the end of the over four-hour meeting on Monday, Okonjo-Iweala said the issues that led to the scarcity had been resolved.She said based on the discussions at the meeting, the Federal Government and the marketers had agreed to bring an end to the current fuel scarcity.“We have appealed to them (marketers) and you have heard them saying that following thepayment of the N154bn, things will ease off. We have spent a considerable time talking about this and we welcome the news announced by the marketers and we thank them,” the minister had said.