There were indications, yesterday, that the petrol shortage in the country will not end soon as $6 billion debt to petrol suppliers, lack of liquidity and other issues have put pressure on the Federal Government’s capacity to sustain the importation of the product.
This is even as oil marketers said they had not been able to import the product due to the high foreign exchange rate of $1,500/$, which has increased the landing cost of the product to more than N1,100 per litre.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, said yesterday that the economy continues to struggle due to fluctuations in the foreign exchange market, continued low crude oil production, and a high monetary policy rate that constrained business activity.
Checks by Vanguard indicated that players in the value chain have adopted measures to maximise the allocation of available limited supply.
Vanguard gathered that under the current arrangement, major marketers, their dealers, and depot owners get the product at about N560 per litre and sell it to independent marketers for between N670 and N680 per litre.
The independent marketers that incur the cost of transportation to many parts of the nation, including the outskirts, sell the product to off-takersat between N700 and N900 per litre, depending on location.
There were long queues at the few filling stations that opened to customers, yesterday, while several without the product shut their gates.
Reacting to the development yesterday in a statement, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd, Olufemi Soneye, stated: “NNPC Ltd has acknowledged recent reports in national newspapers regarding the company’s significant debt to petrol suppliers.
‘’This financial strain has placed considerable pressure on the company and poses a threat to the sustainability of fuel supply.