TUC President explains the underlying reasons fuel scarcity will continue to affect the country in the long term. Get insights into the ongoing challenges.
According to Festus Osifo, who serves as the President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Nigeria’s enduring fuel shortage can be traced back to issues with distribution and a failure to maintain vital infrastructure such as pipelines and depots.
During an appearance on Politics Today with Channels Television last Wednesday evening, Mr. Osifo stressed that unless there is a determined effort to tackle the root causes of current shortages, they will persist in occurring sporadically.
Mr. Osifo stated that Nigeria currently possesses roughly 21 strategically placed depots throughout the nation. Fully utilizing these depots would go a long way in resolving logistical issues, as expressed by him. Mr.Osifo further elaborated on how not taking advantage of all available resources has resulted in significant distribution problems which have caused numerous fuel scarcities for Nigerians to endure over time.
He cautioned that even if the queues dissipate within one week, there is no assurance of their absence in a month’s time due to continuous logistical challenges.
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The President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Mr. Osifo, proposed that either fixing the pipeline infrastructure to guarantee availability in inland regions or establishing fuel reserves strategically across each geopolitical zone would benefit Nigeria. By implementing these solutions, he insisted it could create a defense against potential logistical failures yet to come.
Since the start of this year, there has been a persistent problem with fuel scarcity in Nigeria caused by “logistics challenges,” according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). On Sunday, Olufemi Soneye – Chief Corporate Communications Officer for NNPCL – released a statement urging Nigerians not to engage in panic buying and reassuring them that steps were being taken to bring back normal distribution of fuel.
Furthermore, Dapo Segun, the Vice President of NNPC Retail, asserted in a press conference held on Wednesday in Abuja that unfavorable weather patterns constituted one of the causes for fuel scarcity. He mentioned how torrential rainfall and strong lightning strikes had influenced their operations negatively but emphasized these occurrences were beyond their sphere of control.
Although assurances have been made, Nigerians continue to experience constant frustration due to the never-ending lines at petrol stations. The removal of fuel subsidies by President Bola Tinubu in May 2023 has only worsened things as it caused petrol prices to surge from less than N200 per liter to reach up to N1,000 in some regions.
The observations made by Mr. Osifo emphasize the necessity for a permanent resolution to Nigeria’s fuel supply issues, which persistently affect numerous citizens’ daily routines all over the country.
