Fuel scarcity looms as markerters grumble over delay

    
Nigeria may be heading for another round of fuel scarcity as a result of the continued negligence of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency to release import allocation to the oil marketing and trading companies for the first quarter of 2014.

Similarly, the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria has faulted claims by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation that the NNPC had enough fuel to last the country for a good period of time.

The Executive Secretary, MOMAN, told our correspondent on Monday that the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources had not released the allocation up till 3.30pm yesterday.

He said, “Up till this moment that I speak with you, they have not given us allocation yet, except if they are planning to do so in the evening.”

Asked of what the outcome would be in terms of petroleum supply across the country if the situation should persist beyond Monday, Olawore said, “There might be some tightness in supply.

“This means that the quantity that is available to the market will be reducing little by little. I am not going to say that if they don’t give us allocation queues will appear, no; what I am saying is that what we have will diminish little by little until it will finish.”

Reacting to development, an official of the Petroleum Products Price Regulatory Agency told our correspondent that there was no cause for alarm and stressed that the marketers were only trying to “stampede the government.”

The official, who pleaded not to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the subject said, “This matter is not  what only the PPPRA should handle.

“As I speak with you, senior officials of government including the finance and petroleum ministers are meeting with heads of concerned agencies to address the issue. So there is not cause for alarm.”