Scarcity: NMDPRA shuts 7 depots selling petrol above official rate

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has shut down seven petroleum products depots in Lagos and four other locations as they sold petrol above the N148.17 per litre ex-depot price.

At a press briefing over the weekend in Abuja, the Authority Chief Executive, Farouk Ahmed, said: “So we shut down about seven depots. We shut down where they had their products and they were selling beyond control. You know, they are getting their products directly from NNPC Ltd. And they’re also getting it with some level of comfort because it’s not like cash-and-carry so they had no reason to increase their price beyond reason.”

Some of the affected depots are Bluefin, Rainoil, Ardova, Nepal in Lagos, Calabar, Warri, Port Harcourt and Oghara in Delta State.

“But that’s not to say that’s the end of it. As a regulator, we are responsible. It is our responsibility to address this situation. The next step is a continuation of this until we have gotten to a level where the marketers understand their responsibility to the consumers,” added Ahmed.

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He also assured that the fuel scarcity will end soon after the actions taken, especially as the regulator is clamping down on retail outlets hoarding petrol and those selling above the official price band.

The NMDPRA head commended NNPC Ltd for sustaining the import of petrol with at least 30 days sufficiency despite the global energy crisis caused by the Ukraine/Russia war and Nigeria’s foreign exchange issues.

He said, “As of last night, we had about 30 days of sufficiency. And I will tell you this: about 10 days of that sufficiency is on land and there has been even distribution by trucking. However, during the holiday period, some facilities were working half day and some were closed, especially on Christmas Day.

“Our next line of action also is to monitor those trucks actually delivered at the various destinations as assigned from the loading depots. NNPC against all odds has continued to supply and that’s why we have maintained between 30-day sufficiencies at least in the last couple of months,” Ahmed explained.