Petrol Scarcity: 18 Ships Arrive Lagos With Fuel

Eighteen ships are waiting to berth and discharge petroleum products at various oil terminals within the Lagos ports, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) said on Thursday.
The Shipping Position, a daily publication of the NPA, stated that 13 ships were laden with petrol.
According to the publication, two ships each are carrying kerosene and aviation fuel while one ship will discharge diesel.
The NPA document indicated that four other ships were waiting to discharge general cargoes, including rice and containers. The publication further stated that 92 ships carrying different cargoes would arrive in Lagos ports between 26 September and 22 October. It added that 17 of the ships would convey petroleum products.

There have been queues in many parts of the country as a result of fuel scarcity. The discharge of the products will serve as a relief to Nigerians who have in recent times been worried  over the fuel shortage.
The fuel shortage was attributed to the refusal of petroleum products importers to import fuel as a result of the Federal Government’s delay in paying them for the products they already brought in, a consequence of the monumental graft discovered in the fuel subsidy regime by the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee.
On 1 January, this year, the Federal Government’s attempt to raise the pump price of petrol from N65 to N144 per litre led to a nationwide strike called by the Nigeria Labour Congress and civil society groups.
The government had to reduce the price from N144 to N95.
Complaints from Nigerians that there  was high level of corruption in the fuel importation business in the country pushed the House of Representatves to set up a committee to probe fuel importers’ activities.
The probe uncovered serious sleaze in the activities of oil marketers and importers with regard to the oil subsidy regime.