What are the real reasons of this fuel scarcity?

Nigerians have once again being thrown into a fresh round of fuel scarcity and it seems it is not ending anytime soon. Fuel scarcity is one problem that the Nigerian government has not been able to solve and it keeps recurring. Nigeria has always experienced fuel scarcity and when you think it’s over, that’s when the queues at the petrol stations start again. For a few weeks now, fuel has been biting hard and Nigerians have been groaning.  Despite assurances by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the current fuel scarcity being experienced across Nigeria has persisted for about three weeks. NNPC had earlier blamed the current petrol scarcity in the country on marketers of the product. Top government officials at various times during the scarcity, gave different reasons for the crisis which caused a bleak Christmas celebration across Nigeria. As the fuel scarcity continues, the points below highlights some the reasons given by officials of the current administration for the development. 1. Panic buying At the early onset of the scarcity, the NNPC blamed it on panic buying. NNPC spokesperson, Ndu Ughamadu, said on December 5 that the queues at filling stations were as a result of panic buying by consumers. “The fuel queues witnessed in some parts of the country is due to panic buying by motorists. We have assured the people that the NNPC has sufficient stock of petroleum products to last throughout the coming festive season and beyond,” he said. 2. Weather Nigeria's minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, brought a new perspective when he said the current weather in the country is partly responsible for the petrol scarcity. Speaking on December 6 after a meeting of the Federal Executive Council in Abuja, the minister said the cold harmattan period has led to increased purchase of petrol, thus the scarcity. “This is winter period. There is always more demand for refined products from petroleum ‎during winter in the colder countries. This is what we are experiencing now,” he said. 3. NNPC being sole importer Ibe Kachikwu, at a news briefing in Abuja on December 7 said the major cause of the scarcity was shortage in supply of the products, caused by the NNPC being the sole importer of the product. “The major problem is the gap in terms of volume, because NNPC is the only one importing the product to the country,” he said. 4. Inadequate supply to depots Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday attributed the scarcity to limited supply of petrol to depots across the country. Osinbajo spoke during his visit to fuel depots in Lagos where he monitored the loading of trucks to ensure steady supply of petrol to designated filling stations. “The fuel crisis presently confronting the country is as a result of shortage of supply of fuel to depots across the country,” he said. “We hope that in the next couple of days, we would be able to end the fuel queues.” Opposition leader, Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state, had his own theory for the scarcity 5. Ploy by federal government to increase price Fayose blamed the federal government for the scarcity, saying it was a ploy by the federal government to increase the price of petrol. He made this known in a statement on December 17 by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka. ***prbxselfnetwork***