How ‘cut-throat’ fuel stations are making a killing

How ‘cut-throat’ fuel stations are making a killing
By Nathaniel Bivan (Abuja), Christiana T. Alabi (Kaduna), Tony Adibe (Enugu), Yusha’u A. Ibrahim & Nazi | Publish Date: Dec 5 2015 12:02AM | Updated Date: Dec 5 2015 4:02AMIt’s almost year-end again, and the obligatory fuel scarcity is here. However, the ongoing bout seems to bite harder than those before. Daily Trust takes a look across the nation.
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How ‘cut-throat’ fuel stations are making a killing
“If you want to know the secret of some of these filling stations, buy fuel in a jerry-can,” a motorist in Kaduna, Bello Ibrahim, said, and not without reason. In a filling station in the city, vehicles remained at a standstill as roadside black marketers and other drivers made headway with large jerry cans of petrol, contending with attendants demanding N250 each from anyone with a plastic gallon.   
 However, in the state, some filling stations sell petroleum at the approved N87 pump price per litre while many others sell at N135 and above. Stations that display N87 per litre are usually characterised by long queues which make some motorists and motorcyclists spend days on queue waiting to buy fuel, but those who cannot queue opt for black market, which goes for N200 per litre.
 This trend has continued to inflict untold hardship on residents of the state as the scarcity and high cost of petroleum reflects on businesses. It was gathered from motorists and motorcyclists that majority of stations that display N87 per litre only do that to deceive buyers as they sell above the displayed price.
“When you buy fuel inside a jerry-can, then you will discover that some of them sell as high as N150 per litre. In fact, sometimes, we still suffer in the hands of those who sell their PMS above N100 because in spite of selling at high price, they still adjust their pump to cheat buyers,” Ibrahim revealed.
 It was also observed that some stations that operate along the high way or on the outskirts of the state’s capital, sell above the approved pump price while those that operate within the state metropolis and sell above N87 only operate at the early hours of the day between 6am to 8:30am and at night from about 6:00pm till late at night for fear of being arrested by task force operatives.
“I buy petrol between N165 to N170 per litre but only early in the morning or in the night. Stations that sell to black marketers sell from 6am to about 9am. They will remain locked till evening, around 6pm when they will open again to sell to black marketers. This informs the reason we sell at N200 per litre,” a black marketer revealed.
 Another motorist said he bought fuel recently at a filling station along Nnamdi Azikiwe Bye-pass at N135, but because of the high cost of the product, there was no queue.
 Meanwhile, a manager of one of the so-called mega-stations in Kaduna said that all major marketers are supposed to sell PMS at the approved N87 per litre. He however made known that due to greed, some major marketers divert their product and sell to Independent marketers at higher prices to make more gain.
 As part of measures to ensure that Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) users in the State are not short- changed, operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in the state have intensified enforcement of N87 official pump price in the state resulting in the arrest of no fewer than 18 offenders. Upon the enforcement tour, the NSCDC boss, Alhaji Modu Bunu announced the arrest of two persons from Kabeji Nigeria Limited, located along Kaduna-Zaria Road for selling at N140 and Bibal Nigeria Limited along Maraban Jos for adjusting their pump to N130.
 Other marketers whose personnel were arrested include Danmarke Investment Limited located at Gwargwaji, Zaria who were selling at N130 and Maisoda Oil Nigeria Limited along Old-Jos Road Zaria who were found dispensing fuel at N135. Also, eight managers of filling stations in the metropolis were arrested and two tankers with registration numbers: ZAR 84 XR and ZAR 85 XR, impounded for illegal diversion of petroleum products. The arrested managers he said are believed to be among saboteurs who are frustrating government’s efforts by selling PMS above approved pump price of N87.
 According to Bunu, investigation confirmed that the impounded trucks belonged to Ebenco Global Link Limited, located at Block A7, DC Rock Shopping Mall, 91 Hospital Road, Ekpan Warri in Delta State, adding that the suspected crude was meant for Kano but was being diverted to another company in Kaduna metropolis. He therefore advised petrol users to rescind from panic buying, noting that such practice serves as a catalyst in fuel price hike.
 However, the tension that followed the acute petrol scarcity which hit Enugu State in the wake of the ongoing nationwide fuel crisis has gradually reduced, according to an official of ANCCOR Petrol Station on Zik Avenue, Enugu. The official who did not want his name mentioned said their filling station used to sell at N160 per litre in the heat of the fuel scarcity, but that they now sell the product at N130 per litre, showing a downward movement in the price.
 He said the reason they sell above the official price of N87 per litre was because the company is  privately-owned and could afford to buy the product at any rate from suppliers and sell at whatever price “we think is reasonable and profitable to  our customers and ourselves.”
It was observed that in some of the stations, while the product sells at N130 at ANCCOR filling station, its neighbour, Mobil filling station, sells N87 per litre. While there was a queue at Mobil filling station, ANCCOR petrol station didn’t have one.
“Mobil is a government-owned station which must stick to the government’s official price of fuel or else they may run into serious problem. The queues have reduced. We have regular supply of fuel because we don’t want to scare our customers. So we sell to them at a price agreed on,” explained the official at ANCCOR filling station.
 At Oando Petrol Station on Edinburgh Road, Enugu, there was no petrol and the place looked deserted. Also, at Total filling station, Zik Avenue by Edinbugh Road junction, there was fuel.
“We finished selling our product since Saturday, and we don’t know when the next supply will come,” said one of the fuel attendants at Oando petrol station. The story was the same at Oando filling station Agbani Road by Depot Bus Stop, Enugu. .
 A customer, Mr. Tony Edike, said “the product is available in some filling stations but they sell it much higher than the official price.” He said that he bought fuel at N130 per litre, noting that the situation was yet to normalize. “For now, you can’t talk of tension going down when the situation that made it go high is yet to normalize,” he said.
  At C-to-C petrol station along Agbani Road, the product was sold at N130 per liter and an attendant revealed that “we cannot afford to sell less than the current price until we get the instruction to do so.”
In Kano, selling petrol at night has become the order of the day as fuel marketers resort to dispensing at such hours to some motorists at exorbitant pump prices. Daily Trust learnt that the new trend evolved following the sealing of many filling stations by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) across the country for violating the official pump price of N87 per litre.
 Most filling stations in Kano and environs, in an attempt to escape the wrath of DPR officials have shifted their operations till nightfall from 2am to 5am, when they sell petrol at varying prices ranging from N132 to N133. It was gathered that the stations that engage this practice the most are situated in the outskirts of the city, in areas such as Gwarzo road, Panshekara town, Madobi and Gezawa local government areas of the state.
 The persistent scarcity of petrol in Kano city is taking a huge toll on motorists and other residents who are compelled to abandon their vehicles or queue up for long hours at the few filling stations that have the product. It was also observed that most of the independent filling stations across the metropolis were closed while the few major marketers like the NNPC stations choked under lengthy and chaotic queues.
 A motorist said that when his vehicle ran out of fuel, he spent two days on a queue of a particular filling station trying to refuel, adding that some of the filling stations now issue numbers to vehicles who have spent long hours on the queue before they get the product.
“I left my vehicle on the queue for two days without getting fuel. On the second day, the manager of the filling station issued numbers to us so that new comers cannot bypass the queue. This was how I got the fuel, but it was a terrible experience,” he said.
 Another motorist, a commercial bus driver who was seen on a fuel queue told our reporter that he had joined queues at several filling stations without getting fuel until he found one along Na’ibawa area where he said he had waited for at least 18 hours.
 A cab driver, Yahaya Hamisu, said he had to join queues because if he buys petrol from roadside vendors at N800 instead of N500, he would not make any profit.
 Jummai Zubairu, a commuter, lamented the hike of transport fares by commercial vehicles, describing the development as unfair. “We know that there is no petrol in town, but it is very unjust for commercial drivers to increase their fares because it is not our fault. Some of us also buy fuel at expensive rates to power our generators. So, making life difficult for each other is not the solution, but to collectively demand action from the government,” she said, even as fuel marketers and station owners smile to the bank.
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