Major oil marketers in Nigeria have given an assurance that the present fuel scarcity in most parts of the country will ease by the weekend.
They gave assurance after a meeting with the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, in Abuja.
All the stakeholders, including Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketing Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency ( PPPRA), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC) and Pipelines Products Marketing Company (PPMC), among others, assured yesterday that the scarcity of the product will end in a few days.
They said the Federal Government has addressed all contentious issues with the marketers, including the issue of foreign exchange rate differentials.
The federal government had accepted to pay the $30 billion exchange rate differentials owed the marketers over the last couple of months and is already on the verge of defraying the N185 billion debt owed the marketers with the issuance of Sovereign Debt Notes (SDNs).
The minister, who reaffirmed that the federal government has been dialoguing with the marketers within the last ten days, said President Goodluck Jonathan wanted Nigerians to know that efforts were being vigorously put in place to resolve the issue in the shortest possible time.
Okonjo-Iweala enjoined the marketers to be patriotic in their dealings with the government as the issue affects everyone, and commended Nigerians for their patience.
The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, who also spoke at the briefing, said the apex bank had met with banks and oil marketers to resolve all the contentious issues associated with credit facilities, adding that in the last one week, over $500 million Letters of Credit (LCs) had been opened by banks on behalf of the marketers.
Emefiele requested any marketer who is experiencing delays in their LCs to alert the CBN, and promised to respond promptly to ensure the issue is resolved amicably.
Speaking on behalf of the oil marketers, the Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN),
Mr. Obafemi Olawore, assured that the queues will ease off in the next few days, as the marketers had already moved 495 truckloads of fuel to Lagos, Abuja and environs.
FG promise to end Fuel scarcity by weekend
Leave a Reply