Why fuel scarcity may persist

Nigerians have been facing serious fuel shortage crisis that has seen prices of household items and food skyrocket while transport fares have gone through the roof since early February. The fuel shortage has been occasioned by the importation of about 100million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, with methanol quantity above the nation’s specification. The contaminated fuel was discovered when motorists who bought same complained of damage to their vehicles. The discovery of the adulterated fuel led to the withdrawal of same and precipitated a shortage of the product in the country. Consequently, fuel queues and the attendant hardship are back in the land.

In its first official reaction to the development, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), while apologizing to Nigerians, said the adulterated petroleum product was imported by four marketing companies. An attempt by some of the companies to extricate themselves from culpability was rebuffed by NNPC GMD, MeleKyari, as he gave details of how the contaminated fuel got into Nigeria. Kyari added that “All defaulting suppliers have been put on notice for remedial actions and NNPC will work with the authority to take further necessary actions in line with subsisting regulations.”

Chief Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum, also blamed the importation of the adulterated fuel on inspection failure. In a statement issued by his Senior Adviser (Media and Communications), HoratiusEgua, last weekend, the minister noted that “In the last weeks, Nigerians have grappled with fuel scarcity not because of the absence of supply of products but due to inspection failure, which allowed adulterated products into the country.”

So, both the ministry in charge of petroleum resources and the government company responsible for making fuel available to Nigerians have identified the cause of the problem. However, weeks after identifying those responsible for foisting so much hardship on Nigerians, no punishment has been meted out to them. Neither the companies that brought in the fuel nor the inspection staff who allowed the fuel into the country have been sanctioned. Everyone continues as if nothing happened. In saner climes, the president would have queried the minister, who in turn would have queried NNPC. NNPC would have queried both its inspectorate division and the importers of the adulterated fuel. By now, some people would have either lost their jobs or be on suspension while some companies would have lost their licences. But this is Nigeria, where anything goes. Infractions go unpunished and irresponsibility gets rewarded.

This is the most annoying part of the adulterated fuel saga. It is gnawing that those who subjected a whole nation to hardship rather than getting thrown into prison for economic sabotage get a pat on the back. This is why there is a strong suspicion that the current fuel shortage and crisis may not be the last in the life of this administration. When infractions are not sanctioned, repeat of same becomes inevitable. So, if those who perpetrated this evil against the people get away with it, others would be encouraged to do the same.

But we wouldn’t have been in this strait as a country if the government had lived up to its promise of fixing the refineries and building new ones. Ahead of the 2015 presidential election, the then APC candidate, MuhammaduBuhari, had promised to fix all the refineries and build new ones. He lampooned and lambasted the administration of DrGoodluck Jonathan for not building new refineries and told the country that, if as a Federal Commissioner for Petroleum Resources under General Obasanjo he was able to build refineries, the country should look forward to new refineries under his administration and that would effectively put an end to fuel importation. But seven years after, Nigerians are still waiting for the President to make good his promise.

Apparently to realize his vision of building refineries and turning around the nation’s oil and gas sector, President Buhari, shortly after his inauguration in 2015, appointed DrIbeKachikwu, first as the Group Managing Director of the NNPC and later as Minister of State for Petroleum. Kachikwu, on assumption of office in 2015, promised to turn around the fortune of the four refineries and as well build new ones. However, Kachikwu admitted at the tail end of his tenure as minister that he did not deliver on those promises.

DrMaikantiBaru, the immediate past GMD of NNPC, also made promises about improving the state of the refineries but not much was accomplished in that regard. At his inauguration as the new GMD of NNPC, MrMeleKyari, said, “We will deliver all our four refineries within the life of President MuhammaduBuhari’s administration. We shall seek strategic partnerships to ensure Nigeria becomes a net exporter of petroleum products.” But none of that has happened. Output from all the refineries has been nil over the past few years. Last year, the government approved the refurbishment of Port Harcourt refinery with $1.5billion but it is yet to be seen what difference that would make.

So, if NNPC is unwilling to punish those who imported adulterated fuel and the government is unwilling to fix the nation’s refineries while the people are unwilling to put the government on its toes, what guarantee is there that what is will not continue to be?