By John Ikani
The scarcity of petrol, also known as Premium Motor Spirit, has returned to several Nigerian states, including Abuja, Nasarawa, Niger, and Kaduna, leading to long queues at the few filling stations that still have the product in stock.
Oil marketers blame the scarcity on the difficulty of accessing the commodity, with many of their trucks stuck in queues at depots since October 2022.
On the other hand, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) attributed the long queues to restrictions in businesses and movement in preparation for the recent presidential and National Assembly elections.
The queues started building up on Friday and became alarming on Sunday, with most petrol retailers unable to dispense the commodity, leading to long queues at the few outlets that still had stock.
Motorists in Abuja and neighbouring states formed several-kilometre-long queues at filling stations like; Salbas, Nipco, and NNPCL mega stations on the Kubwa-Zuba Expressway, hoping to purchase petrol.
However, many stations were locked up as retailers struggle to access the commodity.
Private depots have increased the price of petrol, with some selling above the government-approved price, further worsening the situation.
Billy Gillis-Harry, President of the Petroleum Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), disclosed to newsmen that marketers were finding it challenging to get products to dispense.
According to him: “Some marketers who had paid for the product since October 2022 had not been able to load it till now, and the cost of the product keeps increasing daily.”
In contrast, the NNPCL on Sunday, announced that it has enough petrol to keep the country supplied until March 2023, with 2.1 billion litres in stock, equivalent to 47 days of sufficiency.
According to the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPCL, Garba-Deen Muhammad, “the long queues at filling stations were mainly due to restrictions in businesses and movement before the presidential and National Assembly elections.
“However, operations have resumed at the depots, and trucks are now being dispatched to various parts of the country, with normalcy expected to return in the coming days.”
Muhammad urged Nigerians not to engage in panic buying, assuring them that NNPC Ltd and all its partners and stakeholders would continue to work together to ensure the seamless distribution of petroleum products around the gubernatorial and state Assembly elections.
