Although a major oil producer, Nigeria often struggles with fuel shortages that cause long lines at petrol stations (PIUS UTOMI EKPEI)
Weeks of fuel scarcities in Nigeria are compounding a cost-of-living crisis, with the state-run oil company acknowledging “financial strain” was hampering supplies.
Olufemi Soneye, a spokesman for government-controlled Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), blamed the lingering scarcity on financial issues, in a statement at the weekend.
Nigeria, a major African oil producer, often sees sporadic fuel shortages that cause long lines at NNPCL-run petrol stations that sell fuel at cheaper prices than private operators.
“This financial strain has placed considerable pressure on the company and poses a threat to the sustainability of fuel supply,” Soneye said in the statement.
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It comes after NNPCL declared a record profit of 3.3 trillion naira (about $2 billion) last month and an initial public denial of its huge debt burden.
As well as vehicles, most households in Nigeria rely on petrol and diesel to power their generators as the public power supply is unreliable and prone to blackouts.
Though an OPEC oil producer, Nigeria imports most of its fuel needs because it has very little working refining capacity.
Africa’s most populous country is already struggling under higher living costs after government reforms to end a fuel subsidy and free the naira currency drove a spike in inflation.
“The fuel scarcity is really hard,” Ismael Abdullai, 36, a delivery bike rider for a food delivery company, told AFP. “We look, but you always have to look harder to see fuel.”
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Fuel scarcities have been more frequent since President Bola Tinubu removed the costly fuel subsidies that saw the government pay billions of dollars a year to keep the price of petrol artificially low.
Its price has since more than tripled in some states, with a knock-on effect on food and transport costs.
“The cost of transportation is now very high due to the hike in the price of fuel,” a video editor Hogan Samuel told AFP.
“I spent 1,100 naira ($0.70) to get to the office this morning instead of the usual 750 naira.”
– ‘Long queues’ –
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Many stations were shuttered on Monday morning in parts of the commercial capital Lagos. Long lines formed at those that were selling, causing traffic jams.
“We would queue from 6:00 am and still not get fuel until 12:00 or 1:00 pm or 2:00 pm,” Sola Adewusi, a 36-year-old private driver told AFP. “It is because of our leaders, they are bad.”
Drivers looking to save as much as 15,000 naira on a full tank form longer queues at NNPC filling stations where it is sold at the cheapest rate of 560 naira for a litre. But it goes for as much as 950 naira elsewhere.
“Most of us like to buy at NNPC because of the difference in the price between the NNPC and the private fuelling stations,” Abdullai said.
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The junior oil minister Heineken Lokpobiri told an energy labour summit in Nigeria’s capital Abuja last week that NNPCL needed to hike the price of petrol it sells to independent marketers, claiming that the current price of 600 naira was fuelling the smuggling of the product out of the country.
“The situation does not make us happy,” a painter Uzochukwu Christian told AFP in Abuja. “Government should help us.”
Baker McKenzie today announced that leading project finance lawyer Matthias Schemuth has joined the Firm’s Singapore office* as a Principal and Asia Pacific Co-Head of Projects in its Finance & Projects practice, alongside Partner Jon Ornolffson in Tokyo.
Matthias joins the Firm from DLA Piper, bringing more than 20 years of experience in the energy and infrastructure sectors across Asia Pacific. He advises sponsors, developers, commercial banks, multilateral lending agencies, and export credit agencies on the structuring and financing of large-scale projects. His practice also spans international banking, structured commodity and trade finance, with a strong focus on emerging markets. Matthias has been consistently recognised by Chambers Asia Pacific and Who’s Who Legal as a leading project finance practitioner.
James Huang, Managing Principal of Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow in Singapore, said: “We are excited to welcome Matthias to our team. His expertise and proven record in managing teams will be invaluable as we expand our regional and global finance offerings for clients.”
Emmanuel Hadjidakis, Asia Pacific Chair of Baker McKenzie’s Banking & Finance Practice, commented: “Asia Pacific is seeing strong momentum in infrastructure development, energy transition investments, and cross-border project financing, much of it centred in Singapore. Having Matthias on board will further enhance our ability to help clients seize opportunities in the region’s evolving energy and infrastructure markets.”
Steven Sieker, Baker McKenzie’s Asia Chief Executive, added: “Matthias’s appointment underscores Baker McKenzie’s continued commitment to investing in exceptional talent across key markets to support our clients in navigating today’s increasingly complex business and regulatory environment.”
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Matthias said: “I’m thrilled to join Baker McKenzie and contribute to its strong growth in Asia Pacific. The Firm’s global reach and local depth provide an unparalleled platform for delivering innovative projects and financing solutions to clients in this dynamic region.”
With more than 2,700 deal practitioners in more than 40 jurisdictions, Baker McKenzie is a transactional powerhouse. The Firm excels in complex, cross-border transactions; over 65% of our deals are multijurisdictional. The teams are a hybrid of ‘local’ and ‘global’, combining money-market sophistication with local excellence. The Firm’s Banking & Finance lawyers are ranked in more jurisdictions than any other firm by Chambers.
Matthias’s hire continues the expansion of Baker McKenzie’s global team. His joining follows the recent arrivals of Carole Turcotte in Toronto; Tom Oslovar in Palo Alto; Jenny Liu in New York and Palo Alto; Helen Johnson, Mark Thompson, Nick Benson, Kevin Heverin, James Wyatt and Michal Berkner in London; Jan Schubert in Frankfurt; Todd Beauchamp and Charles Weinstein in Washington DC; Dan Ouyang, Winfield Lau, and Ke (Ronnie) Li in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong; and Alexander Stathopoulos in Singapore.
*Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow is the member firm of Baker McKenzie in Singapore
The Federal Reserve gave investors an early Christmas present by lowering interest rates by 25 basis points (i.e., 0.25%) marking its third rate cut this year. In the past, a change like this in the “long end” of the interest rate yield curve has triggered a predictable, investable pattern. Typically, this pattern would be bearish for finance stocks, particularly banks—investors would buy bank stocks when rates rose and sell them as rates fell….
Dozens of protesters from the “Religious Zionist Reservists Forum” and the “Shared Service Forum” demonstrated Saturday evening outside the home of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in Kedumim.
The protesters arrived with a direct and pointed message, centered on a symbolic “draft order,” calling on Smotrich to “enlist” on behalf of the State of Israel and oppose what they termed the “sham law” being advanced by MK Boaz Bismuth and the Knesset’s haredi parties.
Among the protesters in Kedumim were the parents of Sergeant First Class (res.) Amichai Oster, who fell in battle in Gaza. Amichai grew up in Karnei Shomron and studied at the Shavei Hevron yeshiva.
Protesters held signs reading: “Smotrich, enlist for us,” along with the symbolic “draft order,” calling on him to “enlist for the sake of the State’s security and to save the people’s army – stand against the bill proposed by Bismuth and the haredim!”
Parallel demonstrations were held outside the homes of MK Ohad Tal in Efrat and MK Michal Woldiger in Givat Shmuel.
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Representatives of the “Shared Service Forum” said: “We are members of the public that contributes the most, and we came here to say: Bezalel, without enlistment there will be no victory and no security. Do not abandon our values for the sake of the coalition. The exemption law is a strategic threat, and you bear the responsibility to stop it and lead a real, fair draft plan for a country in which we are all partners. It’s in your hands.”
