The President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, Mr. Festus Osifo, has attributed the persistent fuel queues at filling stations across the country to weak and outdated distribution systems within the oil and gas sector.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Osifo highlighted the inefficiencies in Nigeria’s downstream sector, pointing out that the distribution chain is not robust enough to meet the demands of the nation’s large population.
“The distribution chain in the downstream sector is weak. This is why we continue to see queues at filling stations. Even if the issue is resolved today, it will reappear tomorrow,” Osifo remarked. “Nigeria’s distribution system is outdated and insufficient for a country of our size and population.”
He further criticized the reliance on a single point of product importation, with fuel being distributed nationwide primarily by trucks. “No other country as large as Nigeria depends on such an outdated method for distributing fuel across its territory,” he added.
Osifo also linked the insufficient fuel supply in filling stations to poor infrastructure, including bad roads and flooding, which have disrupted the distribution process.
He called for urgent reforms to modernize and strengthen the country’s distribution network to ensure a more efficient and reliable supply chain.
“The government needs to develop and enhance our value chain if we are to avoid recurring fuel shortages,” he stressed.
In addition to the distribution issues, Osifo noted that local production costs in the oil and gas sector are 15 to 20 percent higher than in other parts of the world.
He attributed this to the security challenges faced by oil and gas companies, which increase operational expenses.
Osifo urged the government to assume responsibility for security in the sector to alleviate this burden on investors, which would help reduce production costs.
He also called for stricter enforcement of laws and penalties against those involved in oil theft to curb the ongoing crisis.
