Petrol Price Hike: Latest updates on fuel scarcity for October 22, 2024
As Nigerians continue to express frustration over the recent fuel price hike by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, gistreel has gathered the latest updates on petrol scarcity, the fuel price increase, and reactions from both the government and citizens.
On Monday night, Dangote Refinery clarified reports regarding a lawsuit filed against the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) and five other companies over petroleum product imports.
According to reports, the five companies involved are Aym Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited.
Dangote Refinery, in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024 and filed by Ogwu Onoja, SAN, before Justice Inyang Ekwo, had sued Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and NNPCL as 1st and 2nd defendants.
Also listed as 3rd to 7th defendants respectively in the originating summons dated Sept. 6 are Aym Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited.
The company equally sought a N100 billion in damages against NMDPRA for allegedly continuing to issue import licences to NNPCL and the five companies for importing petroleum products.
Nigeria has witnessed a staggering decline in daily consumption of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, within just one year following President Bola Tinubu‘s assumption of office on May 29, 2023.
According to data obtained by Channels Television from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), petrol consumption fell to 4.5 million litres per day by August 20, 2024.
This marks a drastic decrease from the 60 million litres consumed daily as of May 2023, representing a 92% drop since Tinubu took office.
An analysis of the report revealed that only 16 out of Nigeria’s 36 states received petrol allocations from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) during August, leading to fuel scarcity in the remaining states.
In terms of distribution, Niger State received the highest allocation with 21 trucks, equating to 940,000 litres per day.
Lagos followed with 12 trucks, amounting to 726,001 litres, and Kaduna also received 12 trucks, providing 454,001 litres.
Other states like Oyo and Kano received 12 and 9 trucks, respectively, while Ondo, Kwara, and Edo received lower allocations.
Between Friday, October 18, and Sunday, October 20, no fewer than four vessels carrying Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, arrived at seaports in Nigeria.
These vessels delivered approximately 123.4 million litres of PMS, according to a document obtained from the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on Sunday.
The vessels docked at the Apapa port in Lagos and the Calabar port in Cross River State. This marks a significant boost to the nation’s fuel supply, especially given ongoing concerns about meeting domestic demand.
This latest delivery corroborates an earlier report by The PUNCH, which revealed that oil marketers planned to import PMS to supplement supplies from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
Marketers had expressed concerns that the refinery, located in Lekki, was producing around 10 million litres of petrol daily, far short of the 25 million litres it had originally promised. This shortfall prompted the decision to import fuel, despite the opening of the $20bn refinery.
