Many filling stations were closed in many states as waits for Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, continued on Monday, with depots rationing the amount of PMS issued to marketers.
Several filling stations in Abuja, Nigeria, and Nasarawa states were closed, while the handful that did distribute petrol saw varying amounts of fuel lineups.
On Monday, vehicles lined up at the NNPC and Conoil filling stations along the Kubwa end of the Kubwa-Zuba motorway in Abuja to buy petrol. Many other businesses on the main thoroughfare, including Salbas, Gegu Oil, and Eterna, were closed due to a lack of merchandise.
In Niger State, one of our correspondents noticed that the three NNPC retail locations between Zuba and Madalla had closed. Other outlets along the expressway’s Zuba-Madalla axis, including A.A Rano, B.A Bello, Total, A.Y Maikifi, Major Oil, and Enyo, were closed on Monday.
On Monday, when our correspondent toured the areas to assess the fuel supply situation, large lines formed at the lone Mobil filling station in Madalla that was still pouring gasoline.
Depot owners were still fighting a shortage of gasoline as long as the lines remained long. In addition, one of our journalists saw that on Monday, there were lengthy lines in several areas of Lagos and Ogun State for fuel, and that the only filling stations that sold it to customers were those run by the big marketers.
It was noted that independent marketers’ retail locations were closed and secured since they could not obtain fuel supplies.
Vehicles were waiting in a large queue to get petrol at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited retail location in Iyana-Woro. In Lagos, the NNPC retail stores often charge less than N600 per litre for PMS; however, in Abuja and the surrounding areas, the price is N617 per litre.
Additionally, there were lengthy lines at the Heyden filling station on Iyana-Woro, MRS at Alapere, Conoil, TotalEnergies, and Mobil near Alahusa Secretariat, all of which were charging between N617 and N650 for a litre of PMS.
Drivers who were unable to wait in queue said they were forced to buy from independent merchants, who charge between N700 and N900 per litre. Transport costs in Lagos and Ogun states increased as a result of the circumstance.
One of our journalists was informed by a depot operator, who begged to remain anonymous, that the few depots that had the product on hand were rationing it on Monday.
By Monday, nothing had changed. The proprietors of the depot have begun to ration what little they own. The lack of product is the reason why depots are filling slowly, according to the source.
An additional insider suggested that the planned hunger protest could make matters worse and suggested that it could take up to a week to return to normal.
We will experience shortages through the weekend as a result of supply disruptions, which take at least a week to return to normal. It will get worse if truck movement is impeded during the protest, he continued.
According to The PUNCH, as of Sunday, a large number of gas stations were empty, which caused a shortage of fuel and long lines in Lagos, Ogun, some areas of Abuja, Niger, and several other states around the nation.
It was learnt that black marketers had subsequently exploited the circumstances, offering prices as high as N1,300 and N1,500 per litre in some areas of Ogun and Lagos states.
At gas stations in Lagos and Abuja, lengthy lines began to form on Friday and have continued ever since.
NNPC Chief Corporate Communications Officer Olufemi Soneye had stated, “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.”
“Working round the clock with all stakeholders to resolve the situation and restore normalcy in the operations,” the corporation continued.
Nevertheless, despite the NNPC’s pledge, things became worse when our journalists across the country discovered on Sunday that there were lengthy lines at a number of gas stations in key towns.