Nigeria Faces Shutdown as Energy Crisis Worsens

Nigeria faces a shutdown as fuel becomes increasingly unavailable nationwide and prices doubled or tripled in some places.

Petrol, diesel and even kerosene are longer being sold in 80% of fuel stations across Nigeria, according to reports by Daily Trust correspondents.

The situation is so critical that motorists are stranded at filling stations for a whole day.

As a result transport fares have shot up sharply – in some places rising by 100% or more.

Airlines have also cut flights by half, leaving passengers stranded and some angry for being forced to miss crucial business trips.

All these are compounded by power generation which has dropped to all time low forcing critical services like hospitals, banks and telecoms to depend ever more on generator plants.

But Daily Trust correspondents report that even such alternative services are themselves threatened by the current fuel shortages.

Telecom operators have warned that the nation faces shutdown if the situation does not improve immediately.

A few hospitals have also expressed concerns that they will no longer be able to carry out operations should the situation continue for a day or two.

The fuel crisis is coming at a time when about 50 foreign leaders are due in the country for the inauguration of a new president on Friday.

Fuel scarcity in Lagos and some western parts of the country weekend worsened as most filling stations remained closed.

Our correspondent gathered that some of the black marketers got supply of the product from burst pipelines in the outskirt of Ikorodu area of the Lagos and sell to motorists at N250 per litre against the official price of N87.

Commercial bus drivers have hiked transport fare by over 150 percent margin in order to enable them make returns on the cost of fuelling their vehicles.

A transport fare from Ajah to Obalende, which was N300   days ago was N 700 yesterday. Also  Yaba fare to Obalende goes as  high as N400 and N500 as against N100 per trip last week.

Inter state buses also jerked transport fares  for over  100 percent, leaving cost of movement to Ibadan and Abeokuta at N3500 and N3000 respectively as against N2000 and N1500 last week.

Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the Major Oil Marketers of Nigeria (MOMAN), Mr Obafemi Lawore has expressed concern over the worsening fuel scarcity.

MOMAN and other importers are scheduled to meet the Senate in Abuja today.

Two of the major telecoms operators, Airtel and MTN Nigeria have warned of imminent network degradation if the fuel scarcity is not addressed.

MTN said in a statement posted on its twitter handle, that its reserve diesel was running out fast and the network might suffer imminent degradation if it did not manage to procure diesel supplies within the next 24 hours.

The statement read, “MTN’s available reserves of diesel are running low and the company must source for a significant quantity of diesel in the near future to prevent a shutdown of services across Nigeria.”

Corporate Services Executive Akinwale Goodluck said:  “Most of our base stations and switches are powered round-the-clock by Diesel Generators and the current fuel shortage has drastically reduced the availability of diesel fuel supply to key locations”

In the same vein, Airtel Networks Limited also in a statement said the situation is impacting negatively on its commitments to delivering best-in-class quality of service and seamless telephony experience to all Nigerians.”

An official, Mr. Erhumu Bayagbon said:  “While we are currently doing everything within our means as well as going the extra mile to ensure that all our base stations and switches are up and running, it is sad to note that it is becoming increasingly difficult to replenish current stock of diesel due to the lingering scarcity of the products.”

He said, “We are also concerned that, if the situation persists, it may have adverse effects on our network, impacting both voice and data services. Airtel, therefore wishes to assure all customers that we will continue working with all our partners and stakeholders to mitigate any negative impact as we remain committed to our promise of providing exceptional services.”

A 2014 slide-deck presented to foreign investors revealed that MTN Nigeria spends at least 70 percent of operating expenditure on diesel, while the Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya also gave an estimated amount of N10billion as annual spending on diesel.

The fuel crisis is forcing businesses to close their doors and if MTN’s grim forecast comes to pass, not only voice and calls will be affected, but also internet services, banks, health, education as well as other sectors of the economy.

The persistent acute power outage coupled with the hot weather being experienced in Kano State has exposed residents to untold hardship, our correspondent reports.

For weeks power supply in Kano State has worsened as residents battle with many days of blackout. This is not helped by the weather condition which has been fluctuating between 39 and 40 degrees.

A civil servant, Aminu Mohammed said his son had been admitted at the Nasarawa hospital as a result of the hot weather and the power outage.

“For the past five days now I have been at the hospital, my son is suffering from high fever which doctors said was caused by the hot weather. I thank God that his is high fever but cases of meningitis have been recorded at the hospital,” he said.

A factory worker in Sharada phase 2, Ibrahim Suleiman said the management of the carpet company he is working with had cancelled overtime because of the power outage.