Many depots of Premium Motor Spirit, known as Petrol are currently empty, causing fuel scarcity and long queues in Lagos, Ogun, parts of Abuja, Niger, and some other states in the country.
Journalists reported that black marketers are taking advantage of the situation, selling petrol for up to 1,300 and 1,500 naira per litre in parts of Lagos and Ogun states respectively. Long queues formed at petrol stations in Abuja and Lagos on Friday had persisted as at the time of reporting.
In response to the long queues and fuel shortages in some parts of the country, the Nigerian National Oil Company said on Saturday that the shortage in fuel supply and distribution was due to disruptions to the discharge of petrol-loaded vessels.
The NNPC Ltd wishes to state that the tightness in fuel supply and distribution witnessed in some parts of Lagos and the FCT is a result of a hitch in the discharge operations of a couple of vessels,” said Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC.
The company added that it was “working round the clock with all stakeholders to resolve the situation and restore normalcy in the operations.”
But despite NNPC’s assurances, the situation worsened as checks by Journalists across the country on Sunday revealed long queues at some petrol stations in major cities.
Journalists learned that a depot in Apapa had not loaded trucks since Sunday. A depot operator who wishes to be anonymous told Journalists that almost all depots had run out of fuel on Sunday after what little fuel was available was supplied on Saturday.
The source acknowledged that the depot was empty as “supply gets late thereby affecting product load out.”
Few petrol stations were observed dispensing products in the capital, Abuja, on Sunday. It was previously sold for between N660 and N800 per litre, but black marketers have taken advantage of the shortage and increased the price to around N1,200 per litre, depending on the region where it is purchased.
This came as oil traders revealed that they too were queuing up to load petrol, adding that most depots lacked enough supplies to sell.
“We, marketers, too are surprised that we couldn’t get fuel as we used to get at depots. We were worried too; we didn’t know the cause until the NNPC came out with a release on Saturday. Let’s just believe what the NNPC said, that they would arrest the situation,” National Vice President of the Association of Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria, Hameed Fashola, told one of our correspondents.
“I believe that within this week, everything will be normalised by the time they push products to the depots for marketers to pick from. Ours is to pick from the depots, take it into our stations, and dispense to the public. But for now, most of the depots are dry. The implication of that is that the stations will be dry too. Most of our members have run out of stock. That is the cause of the queues we are experiencing now,” Fashola added.
He noted that traders are still buying PMS “at a price that is above N700/litre from the private depots.”
“That is why independent marketers sell around N800 or so. Until we address this issue of direct supply, there will be issues. We keep shouting to the NNPC to look at that area properly because something is fundamentally wrong with our distribution channel and until they correct that, we will continue to have this issue of fuel scarcity.”
“That is why independent marketers sell around N800 or so. Until we address this issue of direct supply, there will be issues. We keep shouting to the NNPC to look at that area properly because something is fundamentally wrong with our distribution channel and until they correct that, we will continue to have this issue of fuel scarcity.”
Clement Isong, the Executive Secretary of the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria, also admitted that stocks are low but he could not say when the situation would improve.
“The problem is that the stock is low because there have been some challenges in bringing the product into the country from the vessels. We are all queuing up for products, everybody is looking for the product from the NNPC. Only the NNPC knows when normalcy will be restored. It is the sole supplier,” he explained.
Journalists who visited parts of Lagos and Ogun states on Sunday reported that many petrol stations were not open and the few that were open had long queues of people buying cars and jerry cans. Black marketers were easily able to sell petrol to impatient motorists for between N1,200 and N1,500 per litre depending on the location.
Elijah Sunday, a bus driver who spoke with one of our correspondents at Ketu Motor Workshop in Lagos, lamented the battle over PMS.
“We have been finding it hard to get fuel for the past couple of days and it’s expensive, so, we had to increase the rates,” he said.
A minibus driver plying the Eko Hotel-CMS route in Lagos insisted on N300 instead of N200 citing fuel scarcity. PMS Queues formed at the petrol station at Sele bus stop along Oshodi-Apapa Expressway. Long queues of vehicles formed at Northwest petrol station near Charlie Boy bus stop in Gbagada, Lagos, and at the NNPC petrol station at Ogudu. Fuel was sold for N780 per litre at Petrocam, a petrol station in Ajao Estate, Lagos.
Journalists observed long queues at the NNPC petrol station along Cele Expressway where the pump price was set at N568 per litre. A reporter on Sunday learned that a litre of PMS was being sold for N1,200 in Ipokia, a border area of Ogun State. A similar scenario played out in some residential areas of Abuja, where black market traders were selling the fuel for between N1,000 and N1,200 a litre.
Residents of Idiroko, Ajegunle, Maun, Ijofin, Agosasa, Madoga, and other areas in the Ipokia Local Government in Ogun State said they now patronise black marketers, following the ban on fuel supply to the border area.
“You know we have about four filling stations servicing the entire local government area because we are in the border areas. They sell at N870/litre now while black marketers sell at N1,200/litre. That is our punishment for living at the border,” said a resident, Mr Sam Adegoke.
Many petrol stations in the Ogun State capital did not sell the product while some that did were exploiting desperate buyers who paid up to 1,000 naira before selling the product.
In Benin City, the capital of Edo State, motorists queued for hours to buy fuel at the main NNPC filling station on Sapele Road and at NIPCO in the Jattu area of Auchi.
Long queues are common as the product is sold at the NNPC filling station for 591 naira per litre, the cheapest in the state. Other filling stations in Benin sold a litre of PMS for between 750 and 800 naira.
In Gombe, the main filling station sold fuel for between 850 and 1,000 naira, but black market dealers were doing well selling the product to motorists frustrated by the shortage of 1,250 naira.
“You may think that the amount sold by the roadside people (black marketers) is expensive until you are in a fix and you can’t access a filling station with petrol, then you will be left with no option but to patronise them despite the ridiculous amount,” motorbike rider Usman Abubakar, told Journalists.
Motorists in Jos, the Plateau State capital, expressed concern over the continued shortage and high prices of goods. It’s noted that the situation has further exacerbated their economic hardships.
Motorist Philip Gyang said he waited in a long queue at the NNPC filling station on Dogon-Karfi Road for over four hours but got nothing. “At the black market I paid N1,300 per litre before joining the queue at the NNPC outlet, where I eventually couldn’t get to buy,” Gyan lamented.
Margaret John, a Jos State resident, said the shortage has further increased the cost of living in the state.
“Can you imagine that I paid N500 from Polo Roundabout to Anguldi, when I was going to the church today (Sunday)? When I was returning home, the driver insisted that I paid N700, it’s not funny. People are already complaining about the harsh economic conditions, now the fuel scarcity and high cost are worsening the situation.”
A vehicle owner in Minna, the Niger State capital, said he had abandoned his car at home due to fuel scarcity and skyrocketing prices.
“Yes, I have a car but I am not using it now. How many litres of fuel will I buy to be able to come to work? But with two or three litres of fuel, I can come to work on my motorcycle. It is not easy but it is cheaper. This government must act fast, Nigerians are suffering,” a state civil servant, who identified himself simply as Mutum, said.
Queues also appeared again in Katsina and Taraba states. Our Journalists reported that there were long queues in Katsina and Taraba capital Jalingo on Sunday at various points in both cities.
Mallam Abdulrazakk, a motorist, said he spent more than five hours at the Abukur NNPC mega station, on the outskirts of the Katsina metropolis without any results.
“I was here before 8 am and now it is 1:40 pm and still in the queue, only Allah knows when I will be given fuel today (Sunday). I’m waiting.”
In parts of Yola, the Adamawa state capital, black market traders were selling PMS for between 1,000 and 1,200 naira.
“At the black market we buy between N1,000 and N1,200 per litre, so, we need to jack up the fare to enable us to stay in business,” a commercial bus driver said.
