Marketers of petroleum products in the country are not sure of resuming their normal business activities in full scale any time soon following the delay by the National Assembly to okay the payment of the N413bn approved by the Federal Government as payment for subsidy arrears on petrol.

The marketers have continued to hold on to various means that will compel the government to treat their case with urgency, thereby further aggravating the current petrol scarcity plaguing the whole nation.

Findings by our correspondent from market sources on Monday revealed that the marketers were apprehensive that the legislators could probe their demand for payment and possibly slash the N413bn approved for them.

Most of the marketers at the various levels of the supply value chain, it was observed, were indulging in unwholesome practices like product hoarding, inflated pricing and non-transparent operations, among others.

But the Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Thomas Olawore, told our correspondent in a telephone interview that the marketers were optimistic that the legislators would approve their payment.

When asked what the marketers’ reaction will be if the payment approval becomes partial or is not honoured, he said, “There is no room for pessimism here. We believe the payment will be made.”

Despite this stance, petrol trucks were seen hanging around the Apapa-Lagos axis as a result of the skeletal loading activities that had characterised operations at the depots.

Some of the truck drivers complained on Monday that they had spent five days at Apapa without getting products.

Filling station operators are also not helping matters as most of them have resorted to hoarding petrol and selling far above the N87 official pump price. In some areas, the stations only dispense the product at night for inflated amounts so as to beat the regulatory authorities.

A member of the Independent Petroleum Marketers’ Association of Nigeria told our correspondent in confidence that mere word of mouth would not be sufficient to make the marketers return to full scale business.

he Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Wema Bank Plc, Mr. Segun Oloketuyi, says international trade remains a major segment of Nigeria’s economy and the indigenous lender will continue to promote its financing.

According to him, Nigeria is ranked the third-largest trading country in Africa and there is need for stakeholders in international trade to collaborate to move the segment to the next level.

Oloketuyi, who spoke at the second ‘Wema Bank Trade and Structured Finance Customer Forum’ in Lagos on Monday, assured participants that the bank would continue to support the growth of international trade in Nigeria.

He said, “International trade remains a major segment of our economy as Nigerians buy and sell goods from all over the word on a daily basis. The latest trade results show that the Nigerian economy is the 3rd largest trading country in the continent.

“A number of policy and regulatory changes in the last one year has significantly changed the trade finance landscape and it is important that we create a forum where all stakeholders meet to discuss and proffer solutions on how to move forward.”

The Wema boss noted that the nation’s oldest indigenous lender had recorded some significant advancements in recent times, having spent the last few years to put in place the building blocks for growth.

He said the recent change in the bank’s brand identity and the upgrade from regional to a national bank were part of the moves to get the lender to serve its customers better.

Oloketuyi told the participants that the bank would continue to make innovations in various segments of its businesses including trade finance.

He said, “You will agree with me that the period since the last conference has been eventful; we have had significant changes in the political, economic and social landscape of the country. Despite the changes, business decisions continue to be made every day, especially within the trade finance landscape.

According to the CEO, the annual trade finance conference was informed by the need to engage with experts in foreign exchange management and trade facilitation in the industry; discuss key regulatory initiatives in forex management and trade flows; and brainstorm on challenges and possible resolutions to forex management issues as a way of increasing trade volumes.

Officials of the Nigeria Customs Service, Central Bank of Nigeria and other stakeholders were in attendance as the programme.

They gave various suggestions on how to improve the international trade sub-sector.

Despite the fall in global crude oil prices, its harsh impact on Nigeria’s revenue and the current petrol scarcity in many cities, the Federal Government is still subsidising by N10.58 for every litre of the product consumed across the country, latest figures from the Petroleum Pricing Regulatory Agency have shown.

This is coming as fuel scarcity in Abuja and neighbouring states of Kaduna and Nasarawa continued on Monday. The queues by motorists at the few filling stations that had the product to sell stretched farther than they were previously.
Experts in the oil and gas sector have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to stop subsidising petrol, explaining that aside from the fact that it would check the illegalities in the system, the removal of subsidy would also help address the issue of fuel scarcity.
They also noted that the fall in oil prices was another reason why subsidy on petrol should be stopped as the government’s revenue from crude sales was being badly hit by the plunge in the product’s cost.
Available data from the Central Bank of Nigeria on Monday put the crude oil price at $42.42 per barrel. The price of crude oil has continued to fall in the past one year, shedding about $100 during this period.
The latest figures from the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, based on average Platts prices for November 20, showed that the Expected Open Market Price of petrol, which is the summation of the landing cost plus the subtotal margins, was N97.58 per litre.
This is against the approved retail price of N87 per litre, indicating that the Federal Government is subsidising the product by N10.58 for each litre sold to consumers.
Figures from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation also showed that an average of 40 million litres of petrol is consumed on a daily basis throughout the country.
By implication, the Federal Government will be paying about N423.2m to importers daily as subsidy on petrol sold in the nation.
The continued payment of subsidy to oil marketers by the government has been a contentious issue among stakeholders in the sector.
Last week Tuesday, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director, NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, stated that the Federal Government might review the fuel prices by January and explained that the subsidy regime was no longer sustainable.
Kachikwu had said, “Frankly, sustaining subsidy based on the rate that we have now is a major problem for the country and is only happening through the magnanimity of the President. We are looking at the price modulations.
“By January, we will have a price modulation dynamism that will enable us to address the critical issues with the marketers. But the issue of price reduction is not in the horizon at all.”
Similarly, a former Governor of the CBN, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, on Thursday advised President Muhammadu Buhari to remove the controversial fuel subsidy and privatise the nation’s refineries immediately.
According to him, Buhari has the moral authority and legitimacy to quickly remove the subsidy and privatise the refineries.
“The fundamental case against subsidy removal is not economic: it is the fact that the citizens do not trust the government to optimise the use of the proceeds for their welfare. If PMB does not deal with these issues now, I wonder when, if ever,” he said.
Kachikwu told journalists in Abuja last week that the fuel scarcity across the country was largely as a result of the non-payment of the N413bn subsidy claims of the oil marketers, adding that they all stopped importing petrol because of the debt.

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