Contrary to claims that the fuel scarcity ravaging the nation may end on Thursday (today), there are strong indications that the scarcity may linger till next week. This is because the vessels expected to bring in the products are nowhere close to the Apapa jetties.
Blueprint investigation revealed that no mother vessel has been seen in the last few weeks at the jetties and no smaller vessels had also been seen discharging fuel at the petroleum jetties at Ijora, Ibafon up to Kirikiri Lighter Terminal.
As at yesterday, only two ships laden with a combined tonnage of 54,000Metric tonnes of petrol were being expected at the ports.
They are MT Kriton and MT Androussa.
But major oil marketers disclosed that vessels laden with imported petroleum products had berthed at the high sea, but are not yet at the jetties.
An independent marketer, who exonerated marketers of any blame, commended the federal government for its intervention in the clearing processes which he said had become cumbersome and caused the delay of ships in the high sea.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had said that on Monday injected additional three million litres of petrol into Lagos to ease scarcity.
Acting Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division of the Corporation, Omar Ibrahim, said extra 33 million litres of petrol would be supplied to end the artificially induced scarcity.
“While we intensify direct monitoring of fuel stations across Lagos and its environs, we are providing extra volume of the product to eliminate the noticeable queues arising from the induced scarcity,” he said.
