Loading of petroleum products
commenced at fuel depots in
Apapa, Lagos, on Monday afternoon,
although Nigerians are still
counting the cost of the crippling
energy crisis.
The resumption of product loading
followed the suspension of the
strike by marketers and workers of
the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation.
Two marketers confirmed the
development to one of our
correspondents in separate
telephone interviews.
The marketers, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, said Nipco
and Capital Oil loaded products on
Monday.
One of them, who is a member of
the Major Oil Marketers Association
of Nigeria, said all the major
marketers were likely to
commence loading today
(Tuesday).
It was gathered that other depot
owners aside from Nipco and
Capital Oil could not start loading
on Monday because they did not
have facilities for overnight
loading.
Another marketer said normalcy
would likely return to the depots
by Friday as the current product
scarcity had already eaten deep
into the system.
In Abuja, marketers of petroleum
products resolved to mobilise their
members for the immediate
distribution of fuel across the
country at a public hearing
organised by the Joint Senate
Committee on Petroleum
Resources (Upstream and
Downstream).
The Co-Chairman of the joint
committee, Senator Magnus Abe,
who read a communique signed by
the representatives of the major
stakeholders, explained that the
Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, and others at the
meeting unanimously agreed to
the deal in interest of the nation.
He also explained that following
the intervention of the Group
Managing Director, Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation, Dr.
Joseph Dawah, the strike embarked
upon by the Nigeria Union of
Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers
and the Petroleum and Natural Gas
Senior Staff Association of Nigeria
had been called off.
Abe said that the Executive
Secretary, Major Oil Marketers
Association of Nigeria, Mr. Obafemi
Olawore, had agreed to direct
members of the body nationwide
to start lifting petroleum products
from 7pm on Monday, while the
body equally agreed to pay the
National Association of Road
Transport Owners the transport
cost for the products that would be
determined by them.
The energy crisis currently rocking
the nation has thrown the
manufacturing sector into a near
state of redundancy.
While lots of the manufacturers
have embarked on working half
schedules to cope, others are
planning to shut down production
completely until the situation
improves.
Some of the manufacturers, who
spoke to one of our correspondents
in Lagos, said they had decided to
cut down their working hours
because of the acute shortage of
petroleum products and electricity
to run their factories.
A pure water maker, Mandu Obi,
said he was buying diesel for N800
per litre instead of the previous
N150.
“My plant needs about 1,000 litres
of diesel to work every day. For a
small business owner like me, I
don’t see how I can keep up with
such expenses. I had 1,500 litres of
diesel left from last week and this
morning, I decided to top it only to
spend four times what I usually
spend on a litre of diesel,” she
recounted.
The President, Manufacturers
Association of Nigeria, Mr. Frank
Jacobs, said manufacturers were
losing a lot of money as a result of
the energy crisis.
He added that no one could put a
figure to the amount being lost, but
admitted that the manufacturers
were losing a lot of money.
The Director-General, Lagos
Chamber of Commerce and
Industry, Mr. Muda Yusuf, said the
situation had completely crippled
the manufacturing sector.
He said, “A lot of people are cutting
down their working hours. Some
companies have also shut down. It
is a very bad situation. It is crippling
businesses that depend on diesel
and fuel.
“It is affecting productivity because
instead of working for eight hours,
companies are forced to work for
only two or three hours.
“The public power situation is not
reliable and the fall-back position is
diesel or petrol. Now, both of them
are not available. There are very
few businesses that can be run
without energy.”
Most civil servants were absent
from work in Abuja on Monday as a
result of the nationwide fuel
scarcity.
Only a few people reported for
work at the Federal Secretariat
located in the Central District, a part
of the city that is always crowded.
By 2pm, most offices at the
secretariat had been deserted as
the few civil servants who turned
up for work had gone home.
The fuel scarcity also took a toll on
the banking sector as five
prominent banks in the country had
to close their branches in the
Federal Capital Territory by 1pm on
Monday.
They are Guaranty Trust Bank Plc,
Zenith Bank Plc, Skye Bank Plc, First
City Monument Bank Plc and First
Bank of Nigeria Limited.
Similarly, many banks and
insurance companies in Kwara
State closed early on Monday
because of the lingering fuel
scarcity.
The situation was not different in
Lagos as the banks and other offices
closed early.
Our correspondent, who monitored
the development in Ilorin, the state
capital, observed that many of the
banks stopped allowing customers
entry into the banking halls from
1pm as against the normal 4pm.
Most filling stations visited by one
of our correspondents in the FCT on
Monday were not dispensing
petrol, thus increasing the hardship
of the residents many of whom
were seen trekking long distances
due to hikes in transport fares.
It was learnt that a bus ride from
Nyanya to Wuse, which hitherto
cost between N150 and N200, went
for N300 on Monday.
Taxi fares have also doubled as the
operators now charge a minimum
of N1,000 for journeys that normally
cost between N500 and N700.
In Ondo, some members of the
state Chapter of the National Union
of Road Transport Workers staged a
protest against the acute scarcity of
refined petroleum products.
For almost two hours, commercial
vehicles in Akure, the state capital,
were stopped from operating,
especially on the popular Oba
Adesida and Oyemekun roads, by
the protesting NURTW members
while some drivers who had
already taken passengers were
forcefully ordered to drop them.
As a result of this development, the
commuters did not have any
alternative but to continue on their
journeys by trekking, while those
who could not trek returned home.
Business activities were
substantially paralysed in Abeokuta
and most major cities in Ogun State
on Monday.
Some of the banks in Abeokuta shut
their doors against their customers
around 12noon, while some did not
open for business.
Many civil servants resumed late for
work, whil e some did not bother to
leave their homes due to the few
number of commercial vehicles on
the road.
by ROTMANLUV 2023-07-08, 17:34
