Oil marketers have attributed the decision to shut down operations to the ongoing protests, assuring that the queues for fuel would clear out next week.
According to The PUNCH, dealers from the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, which controls about 80 percent of filling stations across the country, remain apprehensive and are not opening their stations, causing fuel shortages in many cities.
They emphasized that opening stations in areas with violent protests would be too risky.
Nigerians began nationwide protests on August 1, 2024, with organizers declaring that the demonstrations would continue until August 10, 2024.
Responding to the persistence of fuel queues despite the recent slowdown in protests, IPMAN National Publicity Secretary Chief Ukadike Chinedu said, “The protest is still ongoing, so filling stations and trucks are not functioning optimally. This is because of the fear of attacks on our stations by protesters.
“During the ENDSARS protest, the businesses of oil marketers were attacked and destroyed and the government did not pay any compensation for it. Trucks that were carrying petrol and diesel were burnt in the Warri, Enugu, Sapele, and some other axes, and the government did not pay any compensation.
“So we are being very careful now. I also told you earlier that the security agencies had advised us not to attract protesters to our stations when these stations are opened. We thought the protests wouldn’t last and we asked our people to go and work, but unfortunately, with the way things are moving, we have to wait till the end of the protest.
“That is the reason why you see many stations are still closed, particularly in locations where the protests were violent. So we urge the protesters to calm down, they have made their mark and the government now understands the plights of the Nigerian people better.”
Chinedu also mentioned that marketers are interested in seeing a reduction in the pump prices of petrol and diesel.
“The high prices of these commodities have caused their consumption to drop. People now have alternative sources and have reduced the purchase of these fuels, making our turn-around time drag and reducing profit margins,” he added.
IPMAN National Operations Controller Mustapha Zarma acknowledged the fear among marketers but promised that the situation would stabilize next week after the protests ended.
“Everybody is afraid to put their trucks on the roads now because of the protests. Nobody wants to take chances. But now that the situation is improving gradually, we have dispatched some trucks to go and bring products from the coastal depots to other parts of the country.
“However, the fuel supply situation won’t clear immediately. It should stabilize by next week. But I must state that this is dependent on the protest because no one can predict it. We also urge the protesters to suspend the exercise because we won’t gain anything by heating the polity,” he said.
In another development, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, revealed that the country spends $600 million on fuel importation monthly.
He attributed the high import bill to neighboring countries, extending to Central Africa, benefiting from Nigeria’s fuel imports. Edun explained on AIT’s Moneyline program, posted on YouTube on Wednesday, that this was why President Bola Tinubu removed the fuel subsidy, as the country does not know the exact amount of fuel consumed internally.
The National Bureau of Statistics reported that Nigeria’s petrol imports were reduced to an average of one billion liters monthly after President Tinubu removed the fuel subsidy on May 29 2023.
