Fuel Scarcity: FG Pays N156bn Fuel Subsidy Claims To Marketers

To halt the current fuel scarcity ravaging the
country, the Federal Government yesterday
assured it would pay Major Oil Marketers
Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) about N156
billion today.
The Coordinating Minister for the Economy
and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-
Iweala,stated this at the World Customs
Day event held in Abuja yesterday. The
Minister said the payment of N156 billion
represents the remaining tranche of the
N256.2 billion debt owed MOMAN in
subsidy claims.
Given further breakdown of the the N156
billion, she said government has committed
to pay N100 billion as IOUs as well as the
interest rate differential of N56 billion.
The latest move by government would
bring an end to the lingering fuel scarcity,
the attendant long queues at the filling
stations and unnecessary sufferings of
Nigerians since March this year.
The payment today was in swift reaction to
President Goodluck Jonathan’s order to the
Finance Minister to end the logjam
occasioned by the scarcity.
Okonjo- Iweala had sought for the co-
operation of the oil marketers to end the
persistent fuel scarcity across the country,
saying government was doing all it can to
end the current fuel scarcity.
“Let me tell you, on the issue with oil
marketers, we have been really working
with them. We have been dialoguing with
them. We paid them N350 billion in
December. We paid them N31 billion as
foreign exchange differential and by
tomorrow (today), we will be paying them
the N100 billion which we will give them as
IOUs as well as their interest rate differential
of N56 billion. I am about to sign to get that
paid and I think Nigerians will agree that the
government is making good effort to
accommodate the oil marketers. They are
also Nigerians and they also need to co-
operate with us.
Meanwhile the Minister of Information,
Patricia Akwashiki,has said that the in­
coming administration of Gen Muhammodu
Buhari will not inherent fuel queues as the
country has enough fuel in its reserves for
the next 27 days .
“I want to assure that we have enough fuel
to supply and the problem is not that we do
not have fuel on ground. We have a
problem with the tanker drivers and that
has to do with the non-payment of fuel
subsidy claims But from tomorrow (today),
the Coordinating Minister of the economy is
going to start paying off some of the
liabilities we have in that sector and it will
ease off,’’ she said
Akwashiki however said that part of the
problem is logistics,especially with the
transport unions in the petroleum
sector,who are equally being owed. ‘‘We
don’t have to wait for Buhari
administration to fix it, we can fix it
and we have been fixing it”.