At least, for 32 days, Nigerians do not need to worry about fuel, as 1.9 billion litres of petrol is now in stock.
This was disclosed in Abuja, Wednesday, by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, while updating the Federal Executive Council in a session presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
The Minister was accompanied to the FEC session by the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr Mele Kyari.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President, Office of the Vice President, Mr Laolu Akande, told newsmen at the end of the session that NNPC had embarked on 24-hour loading of petrol to ameliorate the long queues at fuel stations.
The minister informed the Council that there is enough stock – in reference to about 1.9 billion litres to last for 32 days.
“There’s a 24-hour loading that is going on at all depots working with the Directorate of State Service and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria to ensure that the situation improves significantly,’’ he said.
Akande said. Some reports have it that fuel queues have reduced in Abuja, Kaduna and some other cities in the last 48 hours, linked to the fact that a good number of fuel stations have started operating 24-hour services.
A commercial cab driver Adewole Kufuriji, looked both exhausted and worried. He had spent the entire night of Friday, March 4th inside his car parked along the road close to a filling station around Jakande Estate Isolo, Lagos Nigeria, not because he didn’t have a house to retire to or that his vehicle broke down, but because he needed to refill his near-empty fuel tank to guarantee food for himself and his family, and attend to other exigencies.
The many hours he risked on the road in the dead of the night was responsible for his tired look, but his worry was that this effort proved futile, as he was unable to refill his car and could not work to provide for his wife and three children.
“I wasted seven hours in the queue and still could not buy fuel. The stations don’t sell for more than one hour and before it could reach my turn, they stopped selling. I have parked my car at home because to buy from the black market is expensive and passengers will refuse to pay if you increase the price of transport. I don’t know how I will continue to provide for my family,” Kufuriji said.
Happiness Illiya, a young lady in her mid-thirties resides in one-man-village, a settlement in Nasarawa State close to the Federal Capital Territory border. Speaking with our correspondent, she said transport fares have gone up by at least 50 per cent since the fuel scarcity started, and that commuting to her workplace in the Abuja central area has been physically stressful and financially difficult to cope with, considering she earns N40,000.00 monthly.
“In a day, I spend close to N1,000.00 on transport and there has been no plan to cushion the effects of this fuel scarcity. At the end of the month, I would have spent more than half of my income on transport and have little remaining for food and other expenses. Government should do something to help low-income earners in the country,” Illiya appealed.
For Fumilayo Ajao residing in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, her worry was about the rising cost of foodstuff and other basic commodities like cooking gas occasioned by the hike in transportation. She said surviving in Nigeria is becoming more and more difficult even for the working class, saying she has had to cut down on some expenses in order to cope with the situation.
Despite reassurances from the government, the fuel scarcity which began about a month ago continues to bite harder, causing physical and economic hardship to the populace. Long queues at filling stations persist across many cities in the country both in the day and at night, causing heavy gridlock, with motorists spending an average of four hours to buy fuel.
The hydra-headed reasons for the prolonged fuel scarcity
TNG’s investigation has revealed that the latest fuel scarcity, which was initially thought to be caused by the importation of off-spec gasoline and then panic buying, is now being sustained by a raise in the ex-depot rate from the official N148.77 per litre to as much as N185 by some private depot owners due to prevailing circumstances, including the recent Ship-to-Ship Coordination Charge introduced by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) last month.
TNG reports ex-depot price is the price at which depot owners sell the product to retail outlets and fuel marketers across the country. Findings by this newspaper revealed that out of about 130 depots in the country, 21 are owned by the NNPC, with the remaining 109 owned by private entities, and satellite depots, among others.
For about five years running, the NNPC has remained the sole importer of fuel, as most depot operators have been forced out of business due to scarcity of FOREX and the official retail price range of N162-N165, which oil marketers say leaves very little profit margin. So rather than import directly, these oil majors who own private depots buy from the NNPC and resell to retailers.
Petrol import into Nigeria between the 1st quarter of 2018 and the 1st quarter of 2021 (in billion Naira)
Ideally, this should be done at the Corporation’s inland depots to reduce administrative bottlenecks and enable oil majors to sell at the approved N148/litre ex-depot price; but in reality, vessels are discharged at sea and third-party marketers say they incur additional costs such as clearance fees that make it unrealistic to sell petrol at the official ex-depot rate to retailers.
While there have been calls for an upward review of the ex-depot price, the NNPC last month introduced a Ship-to-Ship Coordination Charge of N500,000 for each trans-shipment operation to cover manpower, logistics, among others.
“Please be informed that the NNPC management has directed that effective February 10, 2022, the sum of N500,000 will be charged for STS Coordination fees for each trans-shipment operation involving the NNPC Marine Logistics. A Remita payment request will be generated by our accounts section for each operation to effect necessary payment upon the vessel’s tendering Notice of Readiness,” the letter from NNPC addressed to all oil marketers read in part.
Subsequently, some private depot owners have reflected this additional operational cost in their ex-depot price causing it to soar from the official N148/litre to between N180-N185/litre. In turn, some retailers afraid of being sanctioned for selling above the N165/litre are unable to purchase the product for N180/litre, but in many states like Lagos, Ogun, Delta, Bayelsa, Niger and Nasarawa, some daring retailers have adjusted their pump price to between N200-N250/litre in order to stay afloat, while black marketers sell between N300-N500 per litre.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) had threatened that its members would not distribute products for any depot that sells above the official rate, but defending the increased pump price, Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Benin Depot, Douglas Iyike, told the News Agency of Nigeria that the increment was due to a hike in the ex-depot price of petrol and not any fault of the oil retailers.
“We want to place it on record that the increment is not due to any fault of oil marketers because we can only sell based on the price at which we buy petrol from the depots. There has been an increment in the ex-depot price which has left marketers with no option but to increase the pump price of petrol above the official N165 per litre in recent weeks,” Iyike said.
He added: “We believe that addressing the issue of the ex-depot price should be the focus of NUPENG and not attempting to picket petrol stations, which might lead to a breakdown of law and order”.
Sources at the Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment, the regulatory body in charge of ensuring that oil marketers operate within the approved standards told TNG that some oil majors like Total, Oando and Conoil who appear to sell at the official N165/litre, short-change the public by exceeding the tolerable error limit of 300-500 millimetres to above one litre.
“The standard for measurement is 20 litres. So what that means is that for every 20 litres of fuel you pay for, you are getting 19 litres. Total is the worst as they sometimes have up to 2 litres error, depending on the location of the station. It is difficult to enforce sanctions such as sealing of the station or revoking of certificates at a time like this because the consumers are willing to pay for it,” one source said.
In addition to these challenges, there has been an increase in the global cost of crude oil, from a market price of N234 ($0.61) per litre last year, to N310 ($0.74) per litre this month as the market price of a barrel of crude hit $118. Nigeria’s N17.126 trillion budget for 2022 and the supplementary budget of N2.56trillion for subsidy were anchored on an oil price benchmark of $62 per barrel.
The NNPC has been importing fuel at the market price and selling at N162 ($0.42) per litre through a subsidy intervention, but analysts fear that the country could go bankrupt if oil price continues to soar and Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), the IMF and World Bank have advised Nigeria to stop the fuel subsidy scheme to free resources for development.
Reacting to the escalating price of crude oil at the international market, President Muhammadu Buhari said at the opening ceremony of the 5th edition of the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2022) that the trend presents a unique revenue opportunity that Nigeria must seize.
“Crude oil prices are on the rise again after turning negative in April 2020. It is a great opportunity for us as a country. With the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in place, there should be no excuses. The enabling investment environment, which has been the bane of the industry has been taken care of by provisions in the PIA,” Buhari said.
On his part, Chairman of MOMAN Adetunji Oyebanji, explained that: “The benefit of a liberalized downstream is the most visible means of growing the economy in the medium to long term. Nigeria can become the refining hub of West and Central Africa and eventually the whole of Africa if we stick to this path of investing in new refineries, adopting a cost optimization initiative, building an environment that promotes competition and creates a sustainable petroleum sector.
“These actions would lead to increased employment, reduced poverty and reduced social inequity. We must take advantage of the opportunities brought by the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA) and fully benefit from our barrels of crude, getting the maximum value it can bring Nigeria”.
Promoting Local Refining of Crude Oil through the PIA
Refineries in Nigeria are key national assets, and experts believe it is in the national interest if they are optimally run from a commercial perspective. The NNPC has four refineries – two in Port Harcourt (PHRC) and one each in Kaduna (KRPC) and Warri (WRPC), which together have a combined installed capacity of 445,000 barrels per day.
Despite the fact that the country has expended N1.47 trillion running and maintaining them between January 2015 to June 2020, these facilities have remained largely moribund, as the capacity utilization of the three refineries was put at 4.88 per cent in 2015; 11.92 per cent in 2016; 18.13 per cent in 2017; 10.13 per cent in 2018 and 2.19 per cent in 2019.
The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) establishes a new reality for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry Section 32 (e, f) empowers the NNPC to provide pricing and tariff frameworks based on a fair market value and not set or dictate prices and tariffs or pay subsidies.
In a bid to implement the Act, the Nigerian government had only provided subsidy for the first half of 2022, but the plan to remove subsidy was met with stiff resistance from labour unions that threatened to ground the country, compelling the government to extend the subsidy to the second half of 2022 through a supplementary budget sent to the National Assembly.
However, oil and gas expert Omowunmi Iledare, said subsidy removal would not only lessen fiscal budget debt financing but will also reduce drastically, FOREX volatility with less pressure from petroleum import demand on FOREX and in the long run encourage competitive pricing at the pump.
“There are those who will argue that if PIA 2021 is implemented within the context of petroleum price deregulation, there is going to be societal misfortunes – diminished energy access and affordability in terms of multi-dimension energy poverty index (MEPI), rising public transport fares, disproportionate income redistribution among the poor, inflation, and public discontentment.
“Nevertheless, the benefits of deregulation far outweigh the highlighted misfortunes in the long run. Political expediency trumping economic efficiency and effectiveness must not render PIA helpless in this debate,” Iledare argued.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, recently decried the huge subsidy spending, as he explained that Nigeria was a net importer of refined petroleum products and that this was counter-productive in terms of the rising prices of crude.
“In Nigeria right now, we are a net importer of petroleum products and when the prices of crude oil go up, they also affect the prices of petroleum products,” Sylva said.
On his part, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, insists that the transition “must have sanity” and guarantee the most-friendly fuel for the country in the short term of 10 years.
To this end, many Nigerians eagerly anticipate the commencement of the Dangote refinery, which is expected to begin processing of crude oil in the third quarter of 2022 at 650,000 barrels per day, equivalent to 102 million litres of oil per day, to meet Nigeria’s current 60 million litres per day consumption level.
In the meantime, the PIA stipulates that market forces should determine the price of fuel and many Nigerians view the current situation as a way of “testing the waters” before the total deregulation of the downstream sector; and they are bracing up for the challenges ahead.
The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, says the Federal Government and regulatory authorities are making efforts to address fuel scarcity by ensuring that supply disruption is overcome.
The minister made this known to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja after a meeting with some key leaders in the petroleum industry.
Sylva spoke shortly after meeting with Malam Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director, NNPC Ltd. and Mr Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), among others.
“This kind of supply disruptions are like accidents, they are not desirable, we do not expect them to happen but they happened once in a while.
“This administration has done well as far as fuel supply is concern. I am quite happy to hear from the NNPC GMD and CEO of NMDPRA on all they have been doing to ensure the scarcity is controlled.
“From what they have told me, in few days there will normalcy, everybody is putting efforts to ensure that supply disruption is overcome.
“On my part as Minister of State, I share their commitment to ensure that this problem is totally overcome.
“From all the figures shown to me the supply is there, so why are they hoarding it, in the next few days we will be able to overcome those unscrupulous elements and make sure products get to Nigerians,” he said.
On black marketers, he said it was caused by unscrupulous elements, who chose to take advantage of the situation, thereby calling on them to sell rightly.
According to Kyari, as of this evening, NNPC has up to 1.79 billion litres of Motor Spirit (PMS) on ground and is still continuing 24 hours loading at the depots and selling.
“We are working with the Premium e regulatory authorities, particularly the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to ensure normalcy,” he assured.
The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) has decried the zero contribution of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd. to the Federation Account in recent months.
Dr Kayode Fayemi, Chairman, NGF and Ekiti State Governor, made this known at the Governors’ Forum on Natural Energy, Oil and Gas at the fifth Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) on Thursday in Abuja.
Fayemi said: “The NNPC contributed zero to the federation account last month. This is not the first time.
“Of course, we know why; though the price of crude oil is going to about 110 dollars per barrel at the international market.
“The more it goes up, it seems like the more we suffer.”
He noted that it was ironic that the NNPc was declaring profit and unable to meet its obligations to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
Fayemi said the governors were concerned about how to grow the industry, stressing that transparency, accountability and governance were critical in achieving this objective.
He noted that the Petroleum Industry Act was responding to some of the challenges facing the sector though the governors had raised concerns regarding some of the provisions of the Act.
The NGF chairman also faulted the oil and gas sector being on the Exclusive Legislative List of the Federal Government.
Fayemi explained that when he was the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, he reviewed the Act regulating the sector to allow more states and local governments participation.
He added that Nigeria should begin to harness its abundant gas resources as the world push for transition to cleaner sources of energy.
Also, Ondo State Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, said the country needs to end the petrol subsidy regime now because it was not sustainable.
Akeredolu, represented by the State Commissioner for Energy and Mines, Mr Rasaq Obe, also called for increased crude oil production to about two million barrels per day to improve the revenue from the sector.
The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (NNPC) has commenced loading of trucks at all depots to clear current scarcity experienced across the country.
It added that there was availability of 1.7 billion litres of petrol currently in stock.
The NNPC, Group Managing Director, Malam Mele Kyari, made this known to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday shortly after a meeting with the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petrol Tanker Drivers (PTD).
Others present at the meeting were the Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN) and Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN).
Kyari said that the additional fuel would relieve the situation in view of persistent queues which continued at the nation’s capital and other parts of the country with fewer stations dispensing the product.
“Currently, we have over 1.7 billion litres of PMS in our hands both in marine and on land.
“This means that we now have the capacity to load out excessively from all depots. We have put in place measures to ensure 24 hours loading in all depots.
“This will ensure that scarcity created by panic buying will now be freed so that normalcy will return to filling stations.
“Typically in situations like this, people go to the fuel stations and buy in excess of what they need and this is what additional supply will resolve. I am very sure that very soon, we will see relief on this,” he said.
Kyari said that neither the Federal Government nor the NNPC had any plan to raise the pump price of petrol.
He urged marketers to ensure that they sell petrol at the price approved by the government.
He noted that following the meeting, the stakeholders had agreed that NNPC should carry out necessary sanctions on any found selling petrol above approved price including the refusal to sell PMS to stations or depots.
He equally noted that it would carry out necessary sanctions allowed by law on any defaulting depot owner to ensure that Nigerians would continue to buy the product at the approved price.
He, however, apologised for the pains Nigerians were experiencing at fuel stations and appealed to consumers to avoid panic buying and to buy only the quantity they needed at fuel outlets.
Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, has said that major oil companies are leaving the country to places where they contribute to the journey towards carbon net-zero commitment.
Kyari made this known on Monday while delivering his welcome speech at the 2022 Nigerian International Energy Summit (NIES2022) themed: “Revitalizing the Industry, Future Fuels and Energy Transition” which held in Abuja.
“Net zero” means that a country must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible and “offset” the residual emissions through natural carbon sinks, that is, through measures that absorb carbon, such as forestation and technologies that capture and make effective use of carbon emitted by industrial activities, known as Carbon Capture, Usage, and Storage (CCUS).
“Companies are divesting. They are leaving our country. Literally, that is the best way to put it,” he said, adding: “They are not leaving because opportunities are not here but because companies are shifting their portfolios where they can add value and not just that — but where they can also add to the journey towards carbon net-zero commitment.”
He said the NNPC remained committed towards a seamless energy transition process that ensures energy justice and takes into cognisance the unique needs of the country and called for improved financing of the sector.
“It is my single honour to say that transition must have sanity, and there must be justice in energy transition. That justice means that it helps us to get to a point where we are able to transport our ordinary people from their homes to their workplaces in the short term,” he said.
Last week, Seplat Energy Plc announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire the entire share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) from Exxon Mobil Corporation, Delaware (ExxonMobil), just as Royal Dutch Shell said it was discussing with the federal government to sell its onshore oil assets in Nigeria.
Although Nigeria has pledged to reach net zero emissions by 2060 which will address problems like desertification, floods, pollution, and soil erosion, it is yet to unveil a detailed plan on how it intends to achieve this goal.
Two oil companies, Duke Oil and Oando Plc have stated that their imported fuel met Nigerian specifications, repudiating responsibility in the importation of the adulterated fuel that hit the country.
This was stated when the companies appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) investigating circumstances surrounding the importation of toxic fuel into the country on Wednesday.
The Managing Director of Duke Oil, Mr Lawal Sade, stated that the product imported by his company was certified okay both at the Port of loading and the Port of discharge by relevant authorities.
He, however, said they were notified by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), a few hours after the discharge that the product had some particles which made it discontinue the process.
He noted that the product has since been quarantined.
He said that there was a confirmation by the regulator which is the new Nigerian midstream, downstream authority to discharge that cargo within the stipulated date.
” The cargo discharged and the vessel sailed. It was just after 24 hours of operation then, Duke Oil was notified by the NNPC that there was a complaint from some of their customers that the cargo has some particles
According to him, the cargo has been certified by the midstream and there is a joint inspection before the discharge and the specification provided in the contract with NNPC meet up the Nigerian specification.
Earlier, the representative of Oando Plc, Afanga Afanga said that the firm’s product met the Nigerian specification.
“In line with our Direct Sale Direct Purchase contract with NNPC, on the 16th of January 2022, we delivered 90MT worth of PMS onboard the Vessel MT Elka Apollon.
“It is important to note that this PMS cargo that was supplied met and was in line with all the Nigerian contractual specifications.
He said that it was confirmed by the mandatory tests that were conducted at the loading port in Europe and before discharge in Nigeria by independent NNPC quality inspectors.
He added that the agents of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority also confirmed it.
He said that It was on this basis that the cargo was certified and accepted for discharge by NNPC.
In his ruling, the Chairman of the committee, Rep. Abdullahi Gaya, asked the companies to submit all relevant documents regarding their presentation, saying they may be reinvited if necessary
I understand if your first reaction after reading the above headline is to wonder: President Buhari should resign? But Why? Chief Timipre Sylva, Minister of State, Petroleum, should too? And the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari? Wetin dem do? Why should they resign? You may further ask. And if you are a member of the Buhari Hailing Party, what we have come to know as the Hailers; or a beneficiary of the unearned largesse at the disposal of the junior minister for the Petroleum Ministry, or the emperor at the NNPC, it is understandable for you to call for my head to be placed on the guillotine.
The shock would be if the headline resonates immediately with the Nigerian on the streets or in the boardrooms. That would be the biggest surprise of the year. We have never been known as such a people to massively call for the sack of our public officers. No matter how bad the lived situation of Nigeria is, we look for a short cut, for a way, no matter how undignified, out. When those who pose as government and their officials, through compounded incompetence, poorly thought out policies, greed and corruption, slam us repeatedly on the iron wall, we don’t fight back. We look for a way to dig a bunker to hide. We will rather be cowards than face our fears; than confront our oppressors.
If any one is in doubt about why Nigeria, as a country and as a people, is where it is today, you need not look farther than the ongoing episode of adulterated fuel import. The audacious impunity with which the government has carried on, is a sorry commentary on our nation. The attitude is akin to “Damn the Public.” They don’t matter. We can carry on as we like. Everything, despite the monumental damage done, must go on as usual.
Neither remorse, nor sanctions, just blame gaming and blame shifting. It does not matter to them that their perfidious incompetence is wracking the economy and sending expense accounts of Nigerians into a tailspin. We are a nation that doesn’t punish impunity, but rewards bad, evil, and corrupt leadership.
And it is not just about the ruling party, the APC, government alone. Even the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is silent. Not concerned with the agony of those whose cars have been wrecked, whose businesses have been badly impacted, whose increased cost of transportation and cost of living have suddenly skyrocketed due to no fault of theirs. Not one meaningful statement from the PDP calling for sanctions on the officers involved or on the leadership on whose table the bulk of this disastrous issue rests. Just one lame excuse of a statement. There is an obvious connivance going on. Being birds of the same corrupt plumage.
Moreover, the indolence and conspiratorial inertness of the average Nigerian is mind boggling. Our ability to coil up, to be kicked in the groin, time and over again, without a whimper, is truly exasperating. Government treats Nigerians a little less than slaves, and it is life as usual. Nigerians expect nothing good from the so-called leaders. They get nothing but bad, incompetent leaders. The average Nigerian doesn’t care. They carry on only to mumble in the dark crevices of their bedrooms. Afraid lest the wind betrays their anguish and whisper their stultifying agony near the opulent, nonchalant ears of their oppressors, the government.
Our docility is the reason it is said of Nigerians that they are the easiest people on earth to be ruled. This is not a new phenomenon. It didn’t start with President Buhari. For anyone old enough to remember, the Abami Eda, the one who thought he had death in his pouch, Fela Anikulapo, lamented about it almost forty years ago. In one of his songs, Sorrow, Tears and Blood, with lyrics reproduced.
My people self dey fear too much
We fear for the thing we no see
We fear for the air around us
We fear to fight for freedom
We fear to fight for liberty
We fear to fight for justice
We fear to fight for happiness
We always get reason to fear
We no want die
We no won’t wound
We no want quench
We no want go
I get one child
Mama dey for house
Papa dey for house
Them leave sorrow, tears, and blood
Them regular trademark (them regular trademarks)
Them leave sorrow, tears, and blood
Them regular trademark
This is why
Everybody run, run, run
Everybody scatter, scatter
Some people lost some bread
Someone nearly die….
While Nigerians and the economy groan, President Muhammadu Buhari, typically is keeping an aloof silence. Chief Timipre Sylva is incommunicado, while the NNPC GMD, Mele Kyari, thinks so little of the sufferings engendered by the adulterated fuel, that he chose to go and collect an honorary degree from one of the local universities. Thereafter, he comes public to insult the intelligence of Nigerians by trying to abdicate responsibility for the fiasco. He blames four sub contractor companies which the NNPC, the sole importer of fuel into the country, sublets part of its responsibilities.
When this became untenable, he shifts the goalpost and goes on other blame game gimmicks. He never for once accepted blame for the damage to the economy and the people which the incompetence of the agency that he heads has visited on the country. For him, all is well, as long as he is able to paper over his complicity, incompetence, and guilt.
He does this knowing full well no one will call him to accountability. He knows that he faces no risk of a sack or even a reprimand. His bosses, the minister for petroleum, the president of Nigeria, and his minister of state, who should be under heavy fire, their jobs hanging on the balance of public anger, are mute. They know the powerless, cowardly Nigerians all too well.
The GMD, Mele Kyari, and the NNPC, in other climes, would be facing huge financially damaging suits by now. The huge payout they would have been forced to pay would have induced humility. The impacted citizens would have organised themselves into a joint force to sue NNPC and Kyari in his official and personal capacity. The insurance companies too, who would have had legions of payments to make on insured cars, would have been up in arms. There is no way, the careless conspiracy going on would have been tolerated without humongous consequences to the NNPC and the government.
Yet, were Nigeria one of the decent democracies and economies of the world, President Buhari, Sylva and Mele Kyari would have been too afraid of kissing their jobs good bye, to behave the way they have done to Nigerians so far.
As for me, the three of them should be held accountable. They should not hold their positions one minute longer. They should be made to resign or pay dearly. Especially the NNPC GMD! Even if Nigerians are afraid to talk to them, should their consciences also be afraid of them?
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited charged with the responsibility of regulating and supervising the oil industry on behalf of the Nigerian government has Integrity, Transparency and Accountability at the centre of its core values, yet failed to immediately take responsibility for the importation of the adulterated fuel that has caused Nigerians unquantified economic and social hardship.
The NNPC admitted on 20th January 2022 that it received a report from its quality inspectors on the presence of emulsion particles in Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) cargoes shipped to Nigeria from Antwerp-Belgium. The report NNPC received from its quality inspectors goes contrary to the quality certificates issued at load port (Antwerp-Belgium) by AmSpec Belgium, which indicated that the gasoline supplied, complied with Nigerian specifications.
“As a standard practice for all PMS imports to Nigeria, the said cargoes were equally certified by inspection agents appointed by the Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA),” said the Chief Executive Officer/ Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari.
It is important to note that all imported petroleum products must meet the National Quality Standard specifications approved by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). To ensure compliance, relevant tests are carried out.
Kyari also said that the NNPC quality inspectors including GMO, SGS, GeoChem and G&G conducted tests before discharge and the results showed that the gasoline met Nigerian specifications.
In spite of the contrary report the NNPC claimed it received on 20th January, the corporation rather than isolate the vessel and take urgent steps to reconcile its findings with AmSpec Belgium which issued quality certificates for the product, concealed this information and allegedly went ahead to discharge same to five major oil marketers – OVH, MRS NIPCO, ARDOVA and TOTAL – between 24th and 30th January 2022.
As the adulterated fuel travelled from Lagos to other parts of the country, an unperturbed Kyari visited the Federal University of Technology Minna, Niger State where he delivered the 30th convocation lecture of the university titled: “Energy Transition and Energy Accessibility: The New Paradigm” and was conferred its Honorary Doctorate Degree of Engineering (Honoris Causa) in recognition of his contributions to national development.
“Just received an honourary Doctor of Engineering from the Federal University of Tech Minna. A humbling call to duty and for delivery of value to the shareholders of NNPC ltd.,” the NNPC GMD tweeted on 2nd February.
The damaging effect of the bad fuel was soon noticed by the consuming public and Nigerians took to social media to complain about their vehicle engines developing faults after purchasing fuel from some filling stations. In one of the videos, a man holding a darkish liquid in a transparent container lamented how the fuel he bought from a refill station in Abuja had damaged his car.
As a result of persistent complaints, the NNPC on 10th February, more than three weeks after it had been intimated of the bad purchase, issued a statement “that limited quantity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, with methanol quantities above Nigeria’s specification, was discovered in the supply chain.
“To ensure vehicular and equipment safety, the limited quantity of the impacted product has been isolated and withdrawn from the market, including the loaded trucks in transit. The source supplier has been identified and further commercial and appropriate actions shall be taken by the authority and NNPC Ltd.”.
The blame game
Not willing to take responsibility for the negative economic and social impact of the bad fuel, Kyari accused four oil marketers – MRS, Oando, Duke Oil and a consortium of consisting Emadeb/Hyde/AY Maikifi/Brittania-U – of importing the products through a Direct-Sale-Direct-Purchase (DSDP) arrangement.
Three of the four named companies denied importing the bad fuel. One of them, MRS said in a statement that due to the current subsidy regime, NNPC is the sole supplier of all PMS in Nigeria.
“Consequently, the NNPC through their trading arm, Duke Oil, supplied a cargo of PMS purchased from international trader Litasco and delivered it with Motor Tanker (MT) Nord Gainer. This vessel was discharged in Apapa between the 24th and 30th of January, 2022.
“Following delivery into tank, it was observed that the product appeared hazy and dark; management immediately directed that further sales should be stopped and the products isolated. Urgent steps were taken to analyse the product to determine the basis for its contamination.
MRS noted that product analysis revealed that the PMS discharged by Nord Gainer had 20 per cent methanol, an illegal substance in Nigeria, and immediately notified the NNPC, NMDPRA and MOMAN (Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria) and it was confirmed that other marketers had similar experiences; adding that the allegation that it imported contaminated products is “mischievous, false and untrue”
Similarly, the management of Brittania-U maintained that all its imported products which cover the entire spectrum of upstream, midstream and downstream sectors, met NNPC’s product quality requirements.
“All the PMS from our mother vessel, MT Torm Hilde were discharged with all relevant certificates of quality after laboratory analysis as it was adjudged lead-free, ethanol-free, water-free, suspended matter-free and had a sulphur content of 0.0174 as against 0.05, which is within the acceptable content allowable by Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Authority,” the company stated.
Investigations by TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) revealed that following the deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry and the inability of oil marketers to access foreign exchange at a competitive price, the NNPC has remained the sole importer of gasoline.
Also, while the Corporation has not denied that it is responsible for supervising the industry, it punched a hole in the integrity of its processes when the GMD said that the NNPC’s assessment does not include tests for methanol.
“It is important to note that the usual quality inspection protocol employed in both the load port in Belgium & our discharge ports in Nigeria do not include the test for Percent methanol content & therefore the additive was not detected by our quality inspectors,” Kyari said.
A break in supply chain and resulting scarcity, damages
Acute shortage of PMS was experienced across major cities evidenced by long queues and the presence of jerry can carrying youths along the streets, who jostled to sell the scarce product to motorists for between N300- N700 per litre against the official price of N165.
In spite of the inconvenience of paying outrageously high amounts for the commodity and the loss of productive hours spent waiting under the scorching sun to buy PMS at the official price, many motorists reported various degrees of damage to their vehicles caused by the bad product.
Chairman of MOMAN, Olumide Adeosun, said it had recorded at least 136 reported cases of damage to vehicle engines and working to ensure that the clean PMS product received are promptly distributed for the restoration of normal operations.
“Some bad cases were recorded, including the Ardova PLC case, which led to 136 reported cases of vehicle engines damaged. We have identified the quantum of the problems, traced the sources and know the vessels that discharged the products as well as the depots and filling stations involved.
Similarly, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission also confirmed that Nigerians who purchased contaminated fuel had experienced technical difficulties and damage to their vehicles, adding that it was engaging regulators and bodies involved in Nigeria’s downstream fuel distribution value chain to mitigate the losses experienced.
“The commission in the process of its initial investigative assessment understand that consumers who purchased fuel that constitutes part of this consignment have experienced technical difficulties and damage to their vehicles or other relevant equipment/machinery,” it said.
It said that in furtherance of its investigation, and pursuant to relevant laws, the Commission is currently engaging multiple regulators and relevant entities, particularly with respect to a reasonable and acceptable mechanism to mitigate demonstrated injury and or loss experienced by consumers.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has called for a thorough investigation of the matter, stressing that consequences would be visited on all parties responsible for the great danger and inconvenience Nigerians have been subjected to through the supply of adulterated products.
The NNPC has confirmed receipt of 2.1 billion litres of PMS which will be distributed to restore normalcy and predicted that the lingering fuel crisis would disappear this week and TNG can confirm that the situation has started to ease as shorter lines were observed at some filling stations on Sunday.
The Federal Government has sympathised with Nigerians over unforeseen hardship occasioned by scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and called for patience in finding lasting solutions to the problem.
Chief Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, made the appeal on Sunday in a statement by his Senior Adviser (Media & Communications), Horatius Egua.
“In the last weeks, Nigerians have grappled with fuel scarcity not because of the absence of supply of products but due to inspection failure, which allowed adulterated products into the country.
“This is regrettable, and the Federal Government sympathises with the citizenry over the unforeseen hardship, occasioned by the inevitable scarcity.
“Let me once again appeal to Nigerians to be patient with government in finding lasting solutions to the crisis,” Sylva said.
He appreciated the NNPC for showing so much concern to the plight of Nigerians by coming forward with an apology.
“This is unprecedented and showed that we on the government side are not afraid to take responsibility,” he added.
The minister also said the Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority had been out on the streets, fuel stations to ensure that the situation normalise quickly.
According to him, we are beginning to see the fruits of their efforts.
“It is not a time to trade blames as is customary in Nigeria. It is, therefore, not a time to query anyone but a time to come together to salvage the plight of the average Nigerian.
“After the storm settles, there will be time enough to investigate and get to the bottom, so that this does not repeat itself.
“President Muhammadu Buhari’s charge to all parties and agencies concerned is to work together to ensure that normalcy returns quickly.
“The Nigerian people deserve the best and the government is determined to set the country on the right path of petroleum products availability and sustainability,” Sylva said.
This, he said, was demonstrated in the award of the contracts for the rehabilitation of all our refineries and the acquisition of stake in the Dangote Refinery.
