It is unarguably a
fact that one of the major achievements of President Goodluck Jonathan led administration
is its ability to address the issue of fuel scarcity, which had been a
recurrent situation in past administrations. Recall that in the past not only
were there many instances of fuel scarcity and its ripple effect of long
queues, but it also used to be a situation whereby the queue persisted for
sometimes weeks or even months. Inflicting pains and agony on the Motorists, as
their apple hour is being wasted queuing up for fuel.
This present
administration swung into action and the bitter memories of long queues at
petrol stations became a thing of the past.
Unfortunately, as
Nigeria moves towards the 2015 general elections, the ugly situation seem to be
rearing its head, this time, at an alarming rate.
It is instructive
to let the public know the truth with a view to getting the necessary solution
to the problem and addressing it as soon as possible so that the scarcity will
not jeopardize the coming elections.
As the Petroleum
Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) predicted the national
consumption rightly or wrongly at 40 million liters per day, because the figure has not been convincingly
substantiated by the agency.
What cannot be
challenged however is the fact that this administration has been able to ensure
regular supply all over the country.
It must also be
noted that of the 40 million liters per day predicted to be the national fuel
consumption, NNPC has the mandate to supply 50% while the remaining 50% should
be supplied by other marketers.
Members of the
public should be aware that with valid figures existing at the moment, NNPC has
not failed at any time to supply its required 50% mandate to the public.
While other factors
may not be ruled out, some facts are clear.
1. The current
situation of fuel scarcity is completely outside the purview of the Petroleum
Minister who ironically has jurisdiction over petroleum matters.
2. Petroleum
marketers claim that they have holes in their pockets in terms of huge
indebtedness to their banks over non-servicing of facilities from past
transactions (subsidy debts) which are awaiting government action.
3. Banks have
insisted that they are not ready to open letters of credit to the marketers
unless they pay back existing debts.
At this stage, it
is worthy of note that the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the
Economy has jurisdiction over the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other banks
and also, the administration of the National Budget, including Subsidy Budget.
The questions
arising now are:
How did they arrive
at the Subsidy Budget?
Is the Subsidy
Budget being rightly or wrongly administered?
Why are the
marketers and bankers reacting and the public suffering?
What are the
implications of the delay as it leads to loses for industries; productive hours
are being wasted on long queues at filling stations by civil and public
servants, businessmen and women?
The long queues are
also scary as motorists block roads and force other vehicle users to face
oncoming traffic. We cannot imagine what would happen when there are
emergencies and vehicles conveying sick people to the hospital cannot move
easily.
What about the
attendant risk factors of storing fuel in homes for fear of not being able to
get more fuel easily?
When policy makers
are making decisions, it is important for them to carry all necessary bodies
along to forestall the suffering everybody is going through now.
We advise those in
charge to make amends and put an end to this crisis as soon as possible.
-Wole Arisekola
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