Marketers blame CBN as fuel scarcity worsens

The scarcity of petrol in Abuja, Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Nasarawa and Kaduna states, among others, is growing worse by the day, as hundreds of motorists spent several hours in queues at filling stations on Monday in a bid to get the product.

Some marketers of petroleum products told Punch on Monday that the Central Bank of Nigeria had refused to honour the Sovereign Debt Notes obtained by them from the Debt Management Office for the settlement of the N413bn subsidy arrears by the Federal Government.

The Minister of Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, had last week said President Muhammadu Buhari was seeking the approval of the National Assembly to pay the money approved last week for the oil marketers.

The Executive Secretary, Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Olufemi Adewole, told Punch in a telephone interview on Monday that no marketer had received anything from the CBN as subsidy arrears.

He said the marketers were optimistic that the money would be paid, but stressed, “Even if the money is paid to us and the CBN does not provide the requisite foreign exchange, we are not going anywhere.”

 - Punch