Scarcity may persist as marketers accuse NNPC of sabotage •It is untrue - NNPC

There are strong indications that scarcity of Premium Motor spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol, may persist except the Federal Government, through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporations (NNPC) repairs the damaged Arepo pipeline.
Investigations by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that NNPC is responsible for importation of the refined product while marketers have stayed away, due to non-payment of their outstanding subsidy claims.
The corporation accused of corruption and mismanagement of the upstream and mid-stream sector now controls the downstream sector.
A marketer under the condition of anonymity told the Nigerian Tribune on Sunday, that non-repair of the damaged Arepo pipeline is a deliberate effort by top NNPC officials who are feeding fat on the situation .
According to him, “since the incidence of Arepo pipeline vandalism and the killing of officials of PPMC, some top NNPC officials deliberately ensured that the pipeline is not fixed because of the financial gains that accrued to them during that period.”
When asked how the officials have been feeding fat on the situation, he explained that they create artificial scarcity prompting Nigerians to buy at above recommended prices of N97 per litre.
“The recommended depot price is N94.50k while marketers are mandated to sell at N97 per litre to final consumers. But right now, NNPC petrol is selling at between N95.50k to N97.50k per litre at various depots in Lagos. Nigerians consumed about 40 million of petrol daily. I hope you can imagine what goes into some people’s account without lifting a fork,” he said.
But in a swift reaction, the spokesman of the NNPC, Mr. Fidel Pepple, told Nigerian Tribune on Sunday that the NNPC through its subsidiary is working on repairing the pipeline and that the allegation of corruption is untrue.
“The Petroleum Product Marketing Company (PPMC) is conducting an assessment of the pipeline and will duly inform us when to commence repair. It is not true that some officials are delaying the repair of the pipeline neither are they enriching their pockets due to the situation.
“How can anybody say that? There is engineering department in the PPMC which is responsible for the repair while the officials at the depot have no power or influence to determine price or date of repair of the pipeline.
“These are two independent departments with no connection at all on the issue. It is wrong for someone to imagine such thing happening,” he reiterated.
On how soon the Arepo pipeline which is critical to supplies of petrol to other parts of the South West Nigeria would be repaired, Pepple stressed that the date cannot be determine until the assessment by the PPMC engineers are concluded.