The difficulty in sourcing or accessing foreign exchange by Independent Marketers to enable the importation of Petroleum Motor Spirit in Nigeria is tending towards emergence of the product scarcity in the various service stations across the country. This eminent ugly trend is coming almost in same period when the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has reiterated the justification of subsidy removal revealing that the corporation would have gone bankrupt in June this year had it been that the President Bola Tinubu, had not taken the political will in removing the fuel subsidy on PMS in May.
While assuring the Nigerian populace on the ephemeral nature of the supply situation noting that Nigeria would become a net exporter of refined petroleum products by next year once the on-going quick fix of the nation’s refineries is completed. Recently the Nigeria Minister of State, Petroleum Resources (Oil), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri visited Warri Refinery for the 13th Refineries’ Rehabilitation Steering Committee Meeting in the company of by the Group CEO, NNPC Limited, Mr. Mele Kyri. The Minister seize the opportunity of the visit to inspect work progress on the ongoing Quick-Fix Project in the Refinery expressed his optimism on the progress achieved so far.
But owing to present challenges experiencing so far by the Independent Marketers in sourcing foreign exchange, the NNPCL, currently imports PMS and other refined petroleum products consumed across the country to cushion the unforeseen resultant effect of inaccessible of foreign exchange which might lead to shortage in supply of the products.
However on the challenges facing by the importers, The Mr. Kyari disclosed that the firm presently in touch with other independent petroleum marketers to address the foreign exchange challenges.
“Government is doing so much to ensure supply of FX into the market. We know this FX market will stabilize the current I&E window at around 770.
“And we know that those inputs are already happening. The inputs of the government today will crystallize and also, they will come to an equilibrium position in the FX market and this is a dream of this country,” He posited
The recent reassumed responsibility of NNPCL to resume the importation of fuel consumed in the country is currently raising an eye brow among different quarters in the country casting doubt on the true position of total subsidy removal from the day to running of the economy by the present administration.
In a quick refute to the claims, the Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPCL, Mele Kyari, told State House Correspondents after an audience with the President at the Aso Rock Villa that fuel subsidy had not been returned.
“No subsidy whatsoever. We are recovering our full cost from the products that we import. We sell to the market, and we understand why the marketers are unable to import. We hope that they do it very quickly and these are some of the interventions the government is doing. There is no subsidy,” Kyari stated.
