Dr Ibe Kachikwu:Minister of state for petroleum

Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, on Tuesday warned all depot owners to desist from selling petrol above official depot price of N77.66k.

Kachikwu gave the warning during an official inspection of depots in Lagos, against the background of the on-going fuel scarcity in the country.

The minister said that the country had enough petroleum products that could serve the country beyond the yuletide period.

He added that the major challenge on the scarcity was due to inability of marketers to receive their subsidy claims.

“We are here to see what is going on in the depot so as to ascertain the level of products in many of the depots we used for our throughput.

“You can see the challenge we are having in bringing products. We are doing all we can to ensure free flow of product, while lots of vessels are coming into the country before December.

“The amount of cargo expected in December is enough to serve the country, but we need to deal with logistic issues. Profiteering by people is one of the major problems we are having. I have instructed the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to sanction any depot owners found selling above depot price,’’ he said.

Kachwukwu said that about 26 cargoes were being expected in the country by December to ease fuel scarcity.

He appealed to Nigerians to be more patient, adding that non-payment of subsidy claims of marketers contributed to the on-going scarcity.

Petrol queues continue in many parts of Nigeria

The minister said that part of the claims owed the marketers would be paid this week.

“We are working with the National Assembly to ensure that the supplementary budget is given accelerated approval so that we can pay the marketers. We are hopeful that this week their money will be paid because we have released the Sovereignty Debt Note (SDN) and once that is released, with the support of the NASS, which means it has been assured.

“We are also working towards paying the foreign exchange differentials to marketers to ensure smooth flow of petroleum product into the country,’’ the minister said.

Kachikwu assured that beginning from January 2016, fuel trucks would be tracked to ensure effective delivery of products from loading point to destination.

He said that government was also working to ensure that the refineries were put in operation as planned. He added that the 90-day ultimatum set for the refineries would lapse in December.

The minister said that effective refinery model would be put in place in January 2016 to ascertain the level of investment and technical capacity of the refineries.

Mr Mordecai Ladan, the Director of DPR, said that the department was on top of its duty to ensure product was delivered at its final destination.

He said that the department had begun a joint surveillance team with the PPMC and Police to track fraudulent marketers.

“Anybody caught diverting petrol will pay N200 per litre while stations where the product is selling above pump price will be closed down.

“We closed about 46 stations last week; we will also ensure that those stations selling at night stopped the practice forthwith.

The minister visited the Nigerian Petroleum Company, Folawiyo Oil, Capital Oil and MRS depots in Lagos