Akwa Ibom state government has attributed the present hike in the price of petrol to inadequate depots to meet the demand of consumers in the state.
Speaking with newsmen in Uyo on Sunday, the Senior Special Adviser to Governor Udom Emmanuel on Petroleum Matters Mr Victor Etefia observed that the current hike in the price of petrol is caused by the absence of NNPC Depot, global economic downturn and lack of other primary sources of petrol supply to the state.
Etefia who is the chairman of the Task Force on Petroleum faulted the recent sealing of 14 petrol stations in the state by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) last weekend and pleaded with residents for understanding.
He said rather than blaming fuel marketers in the state for the impasse, the same marketers should be applauded for making sacrifices to ensure availability of the commodity in the state.
He explained that while petrol is sold at more than N400 per litre in surrounding states including the ones with NNPC depots, the price of the product has not gone beyond N300 in most petrol stations in the state.
“First of all, we should not domesticate this fuel price hike because it is a national problem. Then as far as this fuel business is concerned Akwa Ibom is locationally disadvantaged because we have 21 NNPC depots across the country and Akwa Ibom has none.
“Cross River has an NNPC Depot and 16 depots with deep water, Rivers has about 18 with deep water, we have five here in Akwa Ibom and we are having problems with their vessels having access to the tank farms.
“So even with the primary source we are disadvantaged, with the secondary source, we are also disadvantaged and very unfortunately Akwa Ibom consumes more than any other state in the South-South and South East region.
“So once the central supply source or the NNPC distribution chain has a problem, it affects the component units, that is the states. For those people using Calabar as an example, it is only in Calabar Municipal Council that has four Oando Stations and four Conoil stations and many other major big heads that you can queue and get fuel at N200 because they can get and afford to share to their stations.
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“Go to Ikom, Ogoja, Obubra and others and see if you will get fuel at N400. Go to those places and you will applaud marketers in Akwa Ibom for their efforts and sacrifices.” Etefia explained.
He observed the after-effects of COVID 19 which impacted negatively on the economy of African nations and the Russian/Ukraine war with its impact on the activities of the Black Sea and the Atlantic Ocean which were the main fuel supply channel to Nigeria as the country is dependent on imported fuel.
Etefia who is also a marketer said that the global pricing system has affected the landing cost of fuel, the allocation system at the depots has not favoured the state while the increase in logistics meant that marketers have to squeeze and strategize in order to make ends meet.
“So, the main problem is that the primary source has collapsed and everybody is depending on the secondary source which are the private depot operators and there you hardly can control their prices because they are businessmen.
“It is even a global problem now and we have to accept it the way it is. Prices are prone to the law of demand and supply and for now, the demand is more than the supply. You remember during COVID that people and countries were not even buying crude. I remember that at a time crude oil was cheaper than groundnut oil.
“Also and for instance, the Calabar Depot will have out of the 12m litres it gets with six million allocated to Abuja alone while the five catchment states of Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Abia, Imo and Bayelsa will share six million and on top of that to hire a truck from Calabar to Uyo now costs about N500,000, so you can see the precarious situation that marketers have found themselves in.” He stated.
He absolved the NMDPRA of any blame in the closure of the stations but assured that the matter would be resolved with the management of the agency.
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