Motorists in the Federal Capital Territory and the surrounding states experienced mounting frustration as fuel queues extended further on Thursday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), blamed the development on logistics issues, but reassured the public that the problem had been resolved.
The scarcity of petrol continued to grip FCT, Abuja and North Central States as numerous filling station shutdown due to lack of petrol, those that had were inundated with long queues of vehicles resulting in traffic gridlock and other disruption.
Amidst the scarcity, independent marketers who still had petrol reportedly raised the price to a average of #700/litre, exploiting the market condition. The few NNPC retail outlets with petrol maintained the government approved price of #617/litre.
The Impact News had previously reported on Thursday that many filling stations were forced to close on Wednesday due to depleted stocks, also petrol stations that remained open were swamped with long line of vehicles reflecting the growing desperation of motorist across several states.
The scarcity of PMS didn’t just cause headaches for motorists but also for commuters in several states who were left stranded at bus stops as transporters struggled for fuel.
However the impact was felt in the Federal Capital Territory, Nasarawa, Niger, Gombe, Sokoto, and Anambra States.
This resulted to a hike in transport fares in the affected states, as the few transporters who had petrol raised their rates.
As this situation continues to linger, the Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abuja-Suleja Branch, Mohammed Shuaibu, told reporters that there was still a low supply of PMS to the capital city and its environs.
“There is low supply while the demand for PMS is high. Right now only NNPC retail stations are selling at N617/litre in Abuja and other northern states. Every other station has arbitrary prices.
“The current reception at the Suleja Depot, which supplies Abuja and its environs, is very poor, the trucks are not coming and we understand that there is a cut down in supply from the depots in Warri and Lagos where products normally come from.”
When asked whether the NNPC was not importing enough PMS to meet local demand, Shuabu responded, “This could be another reason because it is often when there is short supply that we witness this scarcity and attendant queues.
“However, the retail stations of NNPC are trying, because they are the only ones that have not changed their pump prices and have continued to make it uniform at N617/litre in the northern region.
“But outside that, all other marketers, whether major or independent dealers, their prices are not uniform. Some dispense PMS at N700/litre, while others sell at higher rates. Maybe by next week if the situation fails to improve, you will buy it at N800/litre.
The Secretary of IPMAN called on the Nigerian Government to intervene by ensuring an increased supply of petrol through the NNPC, emphasizing that many motorists were now getting involved in panic buying.
The Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC, Olufemi Soneye, while reacting to the development noted that the scarcity was due to issues around logistics, without giving further details.
The NNPC Official however, stated that the issue had been resolved and urged motorists not to be involved in panic buying because the national oil company and sole importer of petrol had enough products.
I’m his words “The NNPC Ltd wishes to clarify that the tightness in the supply of Premium Motor Spirit currently being experienced in some areas across the country is a result of logistics issues and that they have been resolved.
“It also wishes to reiterate that the prices of petroleum products are not changing. It urges Nigerians to avoid panic buying as products are sufficient in the country.”
