Fuel scarcity bites harder, as marketers sell petrol at N220 per litre in Kaduna

*The persistent scarcity of petrol has continued to unleash untold hardship and sufferings on  consumers across the  state in Northern Nigeria

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

The lingering scarcity of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, has continued to bite harder in several parts of Kaduna State.

ConsumerConnect gathered that the pump price of the product has risen to as high as N220 per litre for lots of energy consumers.

The development arises amid uncertainty about the time the current scarcity will abate in the northern part of the country.

Though the Northern state plays host to the Kaduna Petrochemical and Refining Company (KRPC), the persistent scarcity of petrol has continued to unleash untold hardship and suffering on the consumers across the state.

Residents of Kaduna State mostly rely on the product for their daily activities, according to report.

Checks indicated that most of the filling stations owned by major marketers in Kaduna, the state capital, are currently out of stock.

However, it was learnt that the few ones that have the product, owned by independent marketers, are selling above the Federal Government-approved pump price of N165.

As the long queues are not as heavy as it was early 2022 when petrol scarcity started, the few filling stations where petrol is available are now using the law of demand and supply to fix their pump prices.

In view of the current  energy situation in most parts of Nigeria, residents of Kaduna State also lament that despite the Federal Government’s assurance to address the fuel scarcity, the worrisome situation has continued to linger.

Consumers have said that they buy fuel at the filling stations at an expensive rate, report noted.

Product prices range from N185 to N220 per litre, with motorists lamenting the negative impact of the arbitrary price increase in their daily lives.

The independent petroleum marketers, reacting to the situation, have attributed the increase in petrol pump prices to many factors, ranging from non-availability of products to the cost of landing from Lagos to Kaduna, and the high cost of diesel to power their generators due to the lack of electricity supply.

Government not responsible for fuel price hike: Petroleum Minister

Price increases have been recorded in several parts of the country, including in Lagos and Abuja, FCT.

However, the Federal Government has denied that it is responsible for the current increase.

Defending the government’s reaction to this development, H.E.Chief Timipre Sylva,

Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, explained that the government is still subsidising petrol products in the country.

Sylva, at the recent Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) stakeholders’ consultation forum on regulations had said that the fuel marketers are most likely to blame.

The Minister also said: “I can tell you authoritatively that we have not deregulated.

The government is still subsidising.

“If there are increases in price, it is not from the government. It is probably from the marketers.”

He stated: “But I will talk to the authorities to actually regulate the price. But this is not from the government. We have not deregulated.”

Meanwhile, petrol subsidy claims continue to skyrocket in the economy, according to report.

As regards the expenditure on fuel subsidy, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited, has disclosed petrol subsidy claims had reached N2.6trillion in the first half of 2022.

The figure reportedly surpassed the revenue generated from the sale of crude oil in the international market.

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