The current long queues at petrol stations across the country are not caused by the non-payment of outstanding subsidy claims to marketers, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said on Tuesday.
The clarification came following speculations that marketers had held back supplies of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) due to outstanding payment issues.
However, the minister, who spoke with journalists in her office, noted that contrary to some unfounded speculations, the queues are not related to payment issues.
According to her, the federal government is very concerned about the fuel queues, which have appeared in Lagos, Abuja and other parts of the country.
“As Nigerians can attest, the Petroleum Ministry and NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) have worked very hard to reduce them to the barest minimum. We sympathise with Nigerians whose lives are being disrupted by the queues and assure them that we are working hard to end them as quickly as possible.
“The situation is due to a mix of factors, including disruption of pipelines and logistical issues and they are being attended to urgently,” he minister said
She recalled that the marketers were paid a total of N320.8 billion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) in two installments last December, underscoring the fact that the government is taking the payment of marketers very seriously.
The minister said she held a meeting with the marketers last week where assurances and commitments were made to pay the outstanding N185 billion balance of their payment.
According to her, an agreement was reached with the marketers’ union to the effect that government will pay not only the costs they have incurred and their fees but also interest and foreign exchange differentials.
She added that the Debt Management Office (DMO0 has issued Sovereign Debt Notes (SDNs) to cover N100 billion out of the N185 billion agreed upon as balance for the next payments even as the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) has also given approvals for the banks to issue letters of credit (LCs).
The minister thanked the marketers who have already cued into the opening of LCs and have been supportive of the government’s commitment to ensure the availability of PMS and other petroleum products.
“It is clear that while the union and most members have been cooperative, some of their members are not. Some of these people have even refused to open LCs to facilitate their payments. We salute the union and the members who are working hard to end this unfortunate situation. As for those who are working in the other direction, Nigerians should ask them what their motives are.”
Okonjo-Iweala stated that to end the unfortunate situation as quickly as possible, the Petroleum Ministry and NNPC are taking strong action to improve supplies in the elections season.
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