Business

Petrol price nears N1,000/litre in parts of FCT, Lagos, others

Published

3 months ago

August 16, 2024

Petrol price nears N1,000/litre in parts of FCT, Lagos, others

Petrol supply has continued to be on and off across the country forcing many filling stations not to dispense the product, Daily Trust investigations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and many states across Nigeria have shown.

Our investigations show that the product sells for close to N1,000 per litre at some stations belonging to members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) in satellite towns of the FCT; while motorists spend countless hours queuing at outlets of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and a few Major Oil marketers dispensing in Abuja city.

The IPMAN blamed the lingering petrol scarcity on shortage of direct supply from the NNPCL.

Speaking to Daily Trust yesterday, a former Chairman of IPMAN, Ejigbo Depot, Lagos, Akin Akinade, said: “Our members have no direct supply from NNPC. We buy from Third Party. We buy at DAPMAN (Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria) Depot in Abule Ado.

Abuja

Many stations in Abuja were found shut by our reporters yesterday, while there were long queues at the few that were dispensing the product. This situation started days before the #EndBadGovernance protest, which commenced on the 1st of this month, and has persisted more than two weeks after.

At Umaru Ngelzarma Filling Station in Lokogoma area of Kabusa District of the FCT, one of our reporters observed yesterday that petrol was being sold for N980 per litre.

Also, at Christee’s Petrol Station, which is also in Lokogoma area of Abuja, it was found to be dispensing the product at N950 per litre.

There were long queues at the NNPCL station at Katampe, along the Kubwa Expressway with motorists saying they would pass the night there to try to buy the product at N617/litre.

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Another NNPCL outlet at the Airport Junction, Jabi, was not dispensing when one of our reporters visited yesterday. The situation was similar at most petrol outlets in Abuja and environs, owing to the unavailability of the product.

Lagos

In Lagos, one of our correspondents reported yesterday that there were queues at NNPCL stations that sold the product for N568, as well as others like Mobil, MRS and North West stations, which dispensed for between N600 and N650 per litre.

Commercial drivers, who spoke to our correspondent, expressed deep concerns over the prevailing scarcity, and the astronomical hike in the price of the product at the few stations dispensing the product, which are mostly on the fringes of the nation’s commercial city.

“The hike in fuel price is the major problem we have in Nigeria. I bought N900-N950 in Calabar, that is why I have not traveled again. It is affecting our business.

“I left my bus because some filling stations sold N1,000 per litre,” Omotayo Adenikeju, a transporter, said.

A former chairman of IPMAN, Ejigbo Depot in Lagos, Mr. Akinade, in a chat with Daily Trust, disclosed that third party vendors from which some of their members source the product, “sell to us N840, N850; and by the time you add transportation to that, there’s no way our members would sell less than they’re selling.

“If they bring down their price, we’re also going to bring down our price. We’re in business to make money”, he said.

Kano

Motorists in Kano said they bought the product for N950 per litre at independent oil marketers’ stations and N620 at NNPCL stations, including those located around Kano Line, Kofar Nasarawa, Club Road by Murtala Muhammed Way and Tal’udu Sabon Titi.

A commercial driver, Habibu Sani said he would rather join the queue at the NNPCL station than pay over N900 for a litre.

Another motorist, Kabiru Yakasai, said he parked his car because he could not afford a litre of fuel for over N900.

At an AY Maikifi outlet around Maiduguri Road, it was discovered that the station was selling the product for N900; while at A.A. Rano Station at Gyadi-Gyadi Zaria Road, it was being dispensed at N730.

An independent oil marketer in Kano, Bashir Umar, attributed the supply shortage to marketers’ reluctance to bring fuel from Lagos because of the possibility of the price crashing when Dangote Refinery begins supply to the market.

According to him, marketers buy fuel for N900 per litre in Kano and sell for N950 after factoring transportation cost.

Maiduguri

Virtually all the NNPCL filling stations visited by our correspondent in Maiduguri yesterday did not open. They were those located at Bulumkutu area, along Kano Road; Mohammed Indimi Way, Off Damboa Road and Galadima Junction along Low-Cost Road.

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A driver, Aminu Idris, said: “We cannot afford to buy petrol from independent marketers at N950”.

IPMAN Chairman, Borno State chapter, Mohammed Kuluwu, said most stations in the state deliberately suspended fuel supply owing to “the crisis resulting from the #EndBadGovernance protest”.

CSO knocks NNPCL

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) yesterday expressed concern over the persistent fuel scarcity across Nigeria.

In a statement issued by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA expressed frustration over the federal government’s silence on the matter. It said fuel scarcity had become the new norm across the country, with Abuja and other major cities continuously plagued by long fuel queues.

“Despite the various excuses provided by the NNPCL, the crisis persists, leading to speculations that the company may be benefiting from the situation.

“In the past three months alone, the NNPCL has churned out no fewer than five different excuses for the ongoing fuel scarcity, ranging from logistics challenges to supply chain disruptions.

“However, none of these explanations hold water, given that the crisis continues to linger unabated. If the NNPCL were serious about resolving the issue, they would have done so by now”, it said. HURIWA alleged that were the NNPCL not benefiting from the fuel crisis, it would have resolved it long ago.

It added: “The simultaneous occurrence of fuel scarcity and the reported challenges faced by the Dangote Refinery suggest an orchestrated effort to undermine the refinery’s operations, further entrenching the NNPCL’s monopoly over Nigeria’s petroleum industry.”

National oil company silent

There was no comment from the NNPCL yesterday as its spokesperson, Olufemi Shoneye, who promised to get back to a Daily Trust correspondent when contacted on the matter, did not do so up to the time of filing this report.

Petrol price nears N1,000/litre in parts of FCT, Lagos, others

Daily Trust

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Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight

Published

5 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Trends Admin

Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight

An Abuja-Lagos flight was on Thursday aborted following a bird strike on the airplane belonging to Air Peace, forcing the authorities to ground the aircraft.

The bird strike experienced in the early hours reportedly prompted a ramp return to ensure the safety of passengers onboard.

All the passengers quickly disembarked and were calmed down before they were moved into another plane for the one-hour journey.

A bird strike is a collision between a bird and an aircraft, or other airborne animal, while the aircraft is in flight, taking off, or landing. And it can be a significant threat to aircraft safety.

Air Peace in a statement by its Head of Corporate Communications, Ejike Ndiulo, said the bird strike occurred at 6:30am, and all passengers disembarked normally.

The statement read, “We wish to inform our esteemed passengers that our Abuja- Lagos 06:30 flight experienced a bird strike before take-off, prompting a ramp return as a safety measure. All passengers disembarked normally.

“We have deployed a replacement aircraft for the affected flight in order to minimize disruptions, thus ensuring that passengers continue their journeys promptly.

“We appeal for the understanding of our valued passengers impacted by this development, as well as those on other flights that may experience delays.

“At Air Peace, we are committed to providing safe, comfortable, and reliable air travel for all our passengers.”

Business

NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production

Published

5 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Trends Admin

NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and its partners have revved up crude oil and gas production to 1.8million barrels per day (mbpd) and 7.4standard cubic feet per day (scfd).

The company which announced this at a press briefing said the feat was achieved in compliance with the mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Speaking on the development, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mele Kyari, congratulated the Production War Room Team that anchored the production recovery process.

“The team has done a great job in driving this project of not just production recovery but also escalating production to expected levels that are in the short and long terms acceptable to our shareholders based on the mandates that we
have from the President, the Honourable Minister, and the Board,” Kyari explained.

Giving details of the efforts of the Production War Room, the Chief War Room Coordinator and Senior Business Adviser to the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Lawal Musa, disclosed that the feat was achieved through the collaborative efforts of Joint Venture and Production Sharing Contract partners, the Office of the National Security Adviser, as well as government and private security agencies.

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He said the interventions that led to the recovery of production cut across every segment of the production chain with security agencies closely monitoring the pipelines.
He stressed that when the Production War Room team was inaugurated on 25th June 2024, production was at 1.430mbpd, but the team swung into action, culminating into sustaining the production recovery to 1.7mbpd in August and hitting the current 1.808mbpd in November.
“We are confident that with this same momentum and with the active collaboration of all stakeholders, especially on the security front, we can see the possibility of getting to 2mbpd by the end of the year,” he stated.
Also speaking on the development, Chairman of the NNPC Ltd Board of Directors, Chief Pius Akinyelure, who also congratulated the team, said he was happy to be part of the production recovery process, adding: “today, I will leave this place with my heart full of joy”.

He charged the Company’s Management to come up with a cashflow projection based on the new production figures to facilitate planning, stressing that he was looking forward to further production increase to 3mbpd.

On his part, the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, expressed satisfaction with the performance of the team and pledged the Federal Government’s support for the company to do more.

NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production

Business

FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects

Published

6 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Trends Admin

FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects

The Federal Government has secured a loan facility of $134million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to help farmers boost seeds and grain production in the country.

This is contained in a statement issued by Anthonia Eremah, Chief Information Officer, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, on Thursday, in Abuja.

Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, made his know at the unveiling of the 2024/2025 National Dry Season Farming in Calabar, Cross River State capital.

Kyari explained that with the re-introduction of the national dry season farming to boost year-round agricultural production, the loan would be handy and guarantee national food security in the country.

The minister said the initiative is under the National Agricultural Growth Support Scheme-Agro Pocket (NAGS-AP) Project.

He said the federal government had declared an emergency on food production to enable all Nigerians to get easy access to quality and nutritional food at affordable rates.

Kyari also said government wants to use the agricultural sector for national economic revival through increase in production of some staple food crops such as wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, soybean, and cassava during both dry and wet season farming.

He added that 107,429 wheat farmers were supported under phase 1 of the 2023/2024 dry season, and 43,997 rice farmers under the second phase of the 2023/2024 dry season.

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The minister said recently, government supported 192,095 rice, maize, sorghum/millet, soyabean and cassava farmers under the 2024 wet season across the 37 States including the FCT.

He said Cross River was leading 16 other states in wheat production, adding that over 3000 wheat farmers have been listed to benefit from the support to grow the grain.

Kyari noted the Cross River government’s commitment to wheat production.

He said it informed why the federal government is partnering with the state to kick start the maiden wheat production and enlisting them among states commencing the current 2024/2025 dry season farming.

“The 2024/2025 dry season farming, the project is targeted to support 250,000 wheat farmers across the wheat-producing states with subsidised agricultural inputs.

“This is to cultivate about 250,000 hectares with an expected output of about 750,000 metric tonnes of wheat to be added to the food reserve to reduce dependence on importation of the product and also increase domestic consumption.

“Equally the programme will provide support to 150,000 rice farmers under the second phase to cover all the 37 states, including FCT, with an expected output of about 450,000 metric tonnes,” he said.