NNPCL Portal Closure Sparks Fears of Nationwide Fuel Scarcity

Fuel scarcity may be on the horizon as petroleum marketers warn of disruptions in the supply chain due to the closure of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) portal. This portal, which is crucial for purchasing Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, has been shut down, preventing marketers from applying for the commodity.

Chinedu Ukadike, spokesperson for the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), raised the alarm in a statement on Wednesday, highlighting the growing concern. He revealed that over 2,000 pending purchase tickets for 45,000 liters of petrol have been left unprocessed due to the portal shutdown.

Ukadike suggested that this situation could lead to another wave of fuel scarcity across Nigeria. “We have more than 2,000 tickets for 45,000 liters of petrol. Multiply that by 2,000, and you can imagine the millions of liters involved,” he explained. The value of this delayed supply is estimated at around N79 billion, with a single truckload of 45,000 liters costing approximately N39.5 million.

In response to the issue, NNPCL spokesperson Olufemi Soneye acknowledged the significant backlog of orders and explained that the portal was temporarily closed to avoid holding marketers’ funds for prolonged periods. “The closure is to prevent us from keeping marketers’ funds unnecessarily long. The portal will be reopened once the backlog has been sufficiently cleared,” Soneye said, though he did not specify a reopening date.

This development comes as Nigerians grapple with soaring fuel prices, which have surged to between N950 and N1,100 per liter following NNPCL’s recent price adjustments in September 2024. The company had raised prices after sourcing petrol from the Dangote Refinery, further straining the wallets of citizens already facing high energy costs.