Marketers unders the umbrella of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) on Saturday revealed why fresh scarcity of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) has hit the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and its environs.

PETROAN National President Dr. Harry Billy, said the only source his members lift the product is the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and when there is no fuel it means the state -owned oil firm has not supplied.

“We as members of PETROAN, we are sourcing for product and the only way we source for product is from NNPCL. So whenever NNPCL gives us product we will deliver,” he said .

Asked whether the product is scarce at the NNPCL depots,” he said.

Asked whether that means the product is not readily available, he said: “We are not the importers. We are not the ones keeping the daily inventory so we cannot say whether NNPCL has product or not.”

He added: “We are the extension that makes their efficiency. So if you see scarcity like this that is affecting the place, the way I saw it yesterday (Friday), it is simply the fact that our principals are working out the process to see how they can buy PMS for our members. That is exactly how it is.”

The IPMAN National President, Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi, who spoke with The Nation, said “loading is very slow at the depots.”

Asked to state the depot price, he said: “private depots in Lagos increased their prices from N630 to N650 of fortnight to N715 per litre.

Maigandi, however said said the NNPCL has not adjusted its depot price from N570/litre.”

There was tension in the FCT at the weekend as only a pocket of retail outlets, mostly those of NNPCL were open to customers.

While NNPCL vended the product for N617/litre amid endless queues, some stations of A.A. Rano and NipCo sold it for N690 per litre with motorists falling over one another to get the product.