Greed, Profiteering By Oil Marketers Cause Fuel Crisis, NNPC Boss Insists

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, has attributed the fuel crisis that had lingered on Nigeria in the last three weeks to greed and profiteering tendency by oil marketers.
According to him, the rumour that there was planned increase in pump price of the fuel “instigated a lot of marketers to be very greedy and they decided that their fellow citizens should not enjoy the Christmas holiday and new year. They decided to profiteer, starting by hoarding and diversion of the products.”
Baru, who answered reporters’ questions shortly after observing Jum’at (Friday Special Prayer) alongside President Muhammadu Buhari today, Friday, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, recalled his address to news men, during which time he told the world that there were sufficient products that will last up to 30 days through the new year into January.
“But because the marketers wanted to inflict harm and pains on fellow citizens, they decided to hoard products, divert them and in some cases even smuggle products out of the country.
“This has been tamed by the actions we took and I personally led the war around Abuja and other teams led the war in Lagos and other parts of the country.
“As of this morning, I have gone round the Abuja metropolis and I have seen that the queues have reduced significantly to almost normal level and few motorists that I heard speaking on morning programmed concerning what I have seen said they have not spent up to 30 minutes to fuel their car.
“So, the monster has been tamed in Lagos, the situation has been brought into normalcy as far as two days ago and we are also acting the same thing in all other cities.
“I promise that we have sufficient products that will last us for the next 30 days and we keep bringing in 50 percent, over and above our normal consumption, into the country. “And vessels have been lined up; at the moment, I have eight vessels discharging products at various ports around the country.
“So Nigerians should enjoy the new year. Mr. President’s directive and guidance which has been very helping, has been executed and normalcy has returned.”
The NNPC boss advised oil marketers who have hidden the products in odd locations to bring them out and sell to the public at N145 per liter maximum.
He said that if NNPC sold the product to them at N133.28, they have sufficient margin within that ambit to be able to supply and sell to the public at maximum N145 per liter.
“The NNPC (stations) are selling at N143 per liter, so you should be able to sell at N145 per liter. If you go above that, the regulators, DPR and PPPRA with the support of law enforcement agencies, particularly the civil defence, will make sure that the products are confiscated and given free to the public. This is the directive by Mr. President which we are working on and is being executed to the later. “Bring them out and sell these products. We don’t have any shortage and we are making massive loading. Normally, we should be able to have 850 trucks to satisfy the National consumption but as at yesterday, we loaded 1,750 trucks to go around the country. “So, we will continue massive load out until we reach the former position whereby all the stations will have products and truck siding.”[myad]