The National Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi, has said that the fuel scarcity hitting the country is not as a result of hoarding but non-availability of the product from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Couple of days now some filling stations are seen locked, while only few petrol stations are open with long queues.

Maigandi disclosed that “we cannot buy from the NNPC depot even after payment. We are queuing for it after our payment.”

He said the private depots are selling it for between N165 to N168 per litre instead of N158 per litre in the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Authority (PPPRA) template.

He also revealed that the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has given the marketers the go ahead to sell the product for N167 per litre.

According to him, the DPR has been on the clampdown on marketers that vend the product above the N167 price.

The National Vice President acknowledged that petrol availability has earned the present administration some goodwill that it must not allow the present scarcity to erode.

 “Petrol is scarce not because of hoarding but due to no products.

“The depots are complaining that there is no product which is contrary to NNPC position on fuel availability,” he stated.