Queues have surfaced at most filling stations in Lagos state. Streams have been noticed at the Mobalaji Bank Anthony way on the mainland and also in some parts of the Island.
It was gathered that the queues are a result of angry members of Petroleum Tanker Drivers and the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners NARTO who have frequently complained about the rising cost of diesel affecting their operation.
According to the tanker drivers, they use diesel to power their trucks and the rising cost of the product is preventing them from moving the petroleum products from the depots to the fuel station. They say the cost of bringing petroleum products to fuel stations has become alarmingly high.
Mike Osatuyi, the National Operations Controller, IPMAN attributed the present scarcity to inadequate supply. According to him, his members had not been getting supplies in the past three days.
He also complained about the high cost of moving petrol from one point to another.
we learnt that the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association said that diesel might rise as much as N1500 in the coming weeks if nothing is done to address the situation.
According to Bennett Korie, the National President of the Association said the only way to crush the rising price of Diesel is for the Federal government to increase the price of petrol.
He said, ‘The only way out if you want to know, is that they (the government) should increase the price of fuel a little to reduce the money spent on PMS subsidy.
I know Nigerians will not be happy to hear this, but this is the only solution. They should increase the price of fuel a little so that the savings will enable the Central Bank of Nigeria to have enough foreign exchange.
You and I know that we import everything now in Nigeria. Diesel is an imported product and it is fully deregulated. So the importers are not getting dollars at the official CBN rate to import diesel. Everybody is going to the black market to get dollars to import their products and so you expect the price of diesel to be high.”
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