The flooding in Lagos and some parts of the country have resulted in scarcity of petroleum products and the resultant long queues in some filling stations, especially in the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) Abuja and some other states in the North, according to checks by Saturday Telegraph. The Chief Executive and Executive Secretary of Major Energies Marketing Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) Mr. Clement Isong, in an interview with Saturday Telegraph confirmed the scarcity in Abuja, explaining that it was caused by the flood- ing which affected logistics and also supply. He also decried that the flooding that occurred in Lagos and some other states of the country disrupted activities in the oil and gas distribution sub-sector. According to him, this affected the businesses of oil marketers.
Isong said: “Yes, definitely the businesses of MEMAN members were affected. During thunderstorms, there is no loading When there is flooding, it naturally disrupts logistics. There are three key areas to check what the rainfall was like: Lagos, Warri and Port Harcourt areas. Raining in Lagos would have distorted loading. We do not load during thunderstorms. ”
Businesses suffered losses running into billions Following the 10-hour non-stop rainfall on Wednesday, members of the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN), have revealed that the business community suffered losses running into billions of naira as the logistics segment of many manufacturing firms in the country was stagnant, as they couldn’t go about to distribute products already pre-ordered for by clients, as distributorship chains were severely hampered. Similarly, the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) disclosed that Nigerians should be ready for mother of skyrocketing prices of foodstuffs in the country, saying that floods, which erupted from the heavy rainfalls are now going to further affect the country’s agricultural food basket as the unprecedented floods have washed away food and cash crops on a large scale and disrupted output projections in agriculture for this year.
The OPSN comprising top Business Membership Organisations (BMOs) MAN, NACCIMA, NECA, NASSI and NASME representing more than 5 million businesses in Nigeria, pointed out that loss to the downpour is massive on its members’ businesses, saying that it is going to bring further hyperinflation to prices of goods items in the country. The Director-General of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said that complaints had greeted MAN Secretariat from manufacturers on the adverse effects of the 10-hour rainfall on their production lines about their inability to distribute products already manufactured nationwide.
Ajayi-Kadir said: “Yes, there were reports from our members about the disruption on their production as they couldn’t go about with their logistics vehicles around the country to distribute because of the rain. The economic implication is that they have suffered huge losses in revenue.