Fuel scarcity artificial – DPR

As fuel scarcity bites harder across the country, especially in Kaduna and other Northern states, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has allayed fears on the fuel scarcity.
Residents of Kaduna state have for the past two weeks battled to get fuel for their cars, with long queues in the few petrol filling stations selling the commodity.

Many other filling stations were shut, giving rise to black marketers selling fuel in gallons and jerry cans at exorbitant rates across the metropolis.

But the Director of DPR, Mr George Osahon, told reporters in Kaduna that the commodity was available, adding that what Nigerians were witnessing was superficial and artificial scarcity caused by fuel marketers who want to sell at higher rates and car owners who make panic buys.

“I think it is superficial,” he said. “It is a chain reaction, because there have been this talk of the NNPC doing something wrong … ‘maybe there would be increase in the price of petroleum product’. ‘Kerosene was not supposed to be deregulated’ and all manners of things like that.

“There is also panic and don’t forget the man that has fuel in his filling station for a certain amount will want to sell it for a higher amount and the man who wants to buy will if possible want to buy at a lower price. So everybody is struggling.