As Nigeria’s general elections draw closer, controversies have continued to trail the lingering scarcity of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol across the country.
Following the emergence of fuel scarcity which led to long queues at filling stations in major cities across the country, the Independent Petroleum Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), said in a statement issued in November 2022 that it was because the product was not available to marketers.
Also reacting to the crisis in November last year, Adeyemi Adetunju, Executive Vice President, downstream, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, blamed the scarcity on ongoing road infrastructure projects in Lagos.
Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), recently decried the fuel situation in the country, alleging that the persistent scarcity was an attempt by the opposition to sabotage this month’s election.
Mahmood Yakubu, INEC Chairman, has also expressed concern, saying that the lingering fuel scarcity might affect logistic arrangements for the February 25 and March 11 polls.
Festus Keyamo, the principal spokesperson for the Presidential Campaign Council of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was recently featured on TVC’s Politics Tonight to speak on emerging trends about the 2023 presidential race.
While reacting to the fuel controversy, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, made multiple claims on fuel scarcity during the past and current administrations.
“President Buhari has done exceptionally well regarding the free flow of fuel because between 2015 and now, we have not really experienced very large-scale scarcity. There have been some scarcity here and there in the past but in some days it always fizzles out.
“There is no Christmas we have suffered up to until this last one. No Christmas! And it was a tradition in the 16 years of PDP especially the last four or five years of PDP before we took over that we were always experiencing that scarcity during Christmas period.
“Remember that up until the time Jonathan handed over to the new government, there was fuel scarcity in the whole country two months until he handed over in 2015,” Keyamo said in defense of his party, APC.
Also speaking on Channels TV’s Rubbin’ Minds aired on Sunday February 12, 2023, Agbabiaka Ahmed, who is a member of the Youth Mobilisation for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, claimed queues at fuel filling stations never existed between 2016 and 2021.
“APC took over in 2015. From 2016 up-till 2021 December, the usual queues that we used to have in filling stations never existed between 2016 and 2021,” Ahmed said in an attempt to defend the ruling party on the recurrent fuel scarcity.
Claim I
There was no December fuel scarcity between 2015 and 2021.
Verification
Buhari officially began his first term in May 2015 after he was sworn in as Nigeria’s democratically elected president.
He was re-elected for a second four-year term in February 2019 and was sworn in later in May of the same year.
Multiple checks, however, revealed that there were at least two instances of December fuel scarcity between 2015 and 2021.
- December 2015
As reported by Africanews, there was fuel scarcity during the December festive period in 2015, months after Buhari was inaugurated as President.
This was also seen in this report which detailed the frustrating experience of Nigerians during the yuletide as Nigerians had to stay in long queues for hours, while many others resorted to black markets.
Buhari’s Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, blamed the fuel crisis on the immediate past administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Daily Post reported.
- December 2017
In 2017, scarcity of petrol lasted into the festive period with thousands of consumers forced to sleep in fuel stations just to get the product, Premium Times reported.
The crisis reportedly worsened despite the assurance given by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Maikanti Baru, that it would be resolved in a matter of days.
How the year’s Christmas celebration was bleak for many Nigerians was also reported here and here.
Amid the fuel scarcity, President Buhari issued a statement where he expressed sympathy for Nigerians and described the situation as regrettable.
- Other Decembers within the years under review
Sometime in December 2018, the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) called on its members to shut down all loading operations over the unresolved subsidy claims it had with the federal government.
A timeline report by Nairametrics shows that the action by DAPPMAN affected fuel availability at the time.
While December was fuel scarcity free in 2019, the nationwide strike declared by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) in November 2020 reportedly impacted fuel availability across the country at the time.
Verdict
The claim that there was no December fuel scarcity between 2015 and 2021 is false; multiple reports have shown that there were at least two instances of December fuel crisis within the years under review.
Claim II
There was always December fuel scarcity in the last four to five years of the PDP administration
Verification
The election that brought in the APC-led government was held in March 2015. So, CDD Election War Room checked for December fuel scarcity between 2011 and 2014, the last years of the PDP-led administration.
Sweetcrude reported fuel scarcity in December 2011. Many petrol stations were reportedly shut in Abuja, with long queues in the capital city and other parts of the country.
Fuel scarcity was experienced in December 2012 as reported by Vanguard here and here. Channels TV earlier reported the persistence of the scarcity in September.
In December 2013, members of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and PENSASSAN, threatened to embark on a nationwide strike in January of the following year over FG’s decision to sell the country’s refineries.
The Vanguard reported on December 31 how most petrol stations in Abuja were shut in anticipation of the proposed strike by the petrol workers. That led to long queues as customers engaged in panic buying over the intended fuel scarcity.
In December 2014, the two petrol workers’ unions embarked on strike over the delayed Petroleum Industry Bill, among other unaddressed concerns, BBC reported.
In another report, the strike was later called off on December 18, 2014, after a twelve-hour-long meeting held to address their concerns.
Verdict
The claim that there was always December fuel scarcity in the last 4-5 years of the PDP administration is false; multiple reports show that there was scarcity in 2011 and 2012. However, petrol workers threatened to strike in 2013 and embarked on strike in 2014 which only resulted in panic buying.
Claim III
Fuel queues never existed at filling stations between 2016 and 2021.
Verification:
Findings by the CDD Election War Room revealed that there were several instances of long queues at fuel stations over shortage of the petroleum product between 2016 and 2021. This can be seen as reported here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Verdict
The claim that fuel queues never existed at filling stations between 2016 and 2021 is false; reports by credible news platforms revealed that there were several instances of long queues at petrol stations within the years under review.