Filling stations shut as depots battle fuel shortage
CHIGOZIE AMADI
Nigerians are still struggling to get Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, as depots continue to battle fuel shortage.
Checks by our correspondent showed that many filling stations in Lagos, Abuja, Ogun, and other states are still shut down due to their inability to access PMS.
The scarcity is gradually affecting major and independent marketers as other filling stations that used to dispense fuel in the past weeks are now under lock and key.
At the few stations where the product is available, marketers dispense a litre at prices between N700 and N1,000.
Some Nigerians on social media called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to tell the masses why the fuel scarcity has not been addressed in the past three weeks.
Since July 27 when the NNPC blamed the fuel scarcity on a hitch in the discharge operations of a couple of vessels, the situation has not seen any significant improvement and the Federal Government did not deem it necessary to speak to the masses.
From Berger to Ogudu, Iyana-Woro to Lagos Island, Ikeja to Abule Egba, Apapa to Surulere, and others, only a few filling stations opened for business on Tuesday.
Our correspondent gathered that the stations that have fuel in Abuja had queues of cars as long as one kilometre.
Operators told our correspondent that the depots in Apapa did not get enough supply from the NNPC.
According to them, demand is currently far higher than what the sole importer of PMS could bring into the country.
The operators said though vessels are bringing in imported fuel, the supply is below what the country needs to get rid of the current fuel crisis.
“There is no fuel at the depots. Whatever is being imported now is not enough to fight the current scarcity. And the price is high because marketers now get petrol at N730/litre. There is nothing we operators can do when there is no supply.
“The supply is not increasing because the importer is incurring too much debt. The more they import, the more the debt on the NNPC, so they continue to ration. Everywhere is dry, and even major marketers are affected. NNPC retail outlets are affected. The situation is worse in Abuja, especially at Airport Road,” one of the operators told our correspondent anonymously due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter.
Another marketer told our correspondent that the few depots that had fuel were not selling to outsiders, they instead dispatched the little they had to their stations.
It was also observed that the high cost of petrol is affecting the cost of transportation, impacting the cost of living.
