The Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA) says scarcity and high fuel prices are caused by many challenges, especially the high cost of diesel.

The association said diesel was the primary cause of the unavailability of fuel because diesel was being purchased by its transporters at a high cost to fuel their trucks without profit.

Benneth Korie, the association’s national president, made this known on Monday in Abuja while speaking with reporters.

Diesel is sold between N850 to N900 per litre at the filling stations against N170 being sold before.

“We use diesel too to carry all the petroleum products, the vessels carry diesel too,  we use diesel too to operate the filling stations and depots; these contribute a lot to the scarcity because of its high cost,” he said.

“If diesel is brought down to N170 as it used to be, then PMS will be sold at a lower price. Subsidy on diesel should be even better than on PMS.”

Mr Korie said the marketers were not happy selling above N200 per litre because of the high cost of getting fuel to the stations but had no choice.

On the persistent scarcity and queues experienced in Abuja and its environs, Mr Korie said it was caused by bad roads, which was another serious challenge that hampered trucks from distributing products.

“Port Harcourt to Abuja road is so bad that marketers and transporters are losing profit daily. If the road could be fixed, it would help the distributors, and the situation will improve.

“70 per cent of the delay of getting the products to stations is caused by bad roads, while forex contributes 95 per cent of the cost of importation.

“We use dollars to pay for shipment, port authority and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). So When talking about what it costs to bring these products, Nigerians should consider other things, not just price,” he said.

He said the prices sold at the filling stations varied because major marketers got from the NNPC Ltd. while the independent marketers got from them.

According to him, they are all marketers, but the price depends on how they get the product.

He confirmed the State Security Service’s intervention.

The briefing was on the backdrop of lingering queues and scarcity of fuel, challenges importers and marketers faced as well as the intervention of the SSS.

(NAN)