- The situation has forced many filling stations to close shop, while the few ones with fuel to sell had to grapple with massive queues
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has reacted to the resurgence of fuel queues in some parts of the country.
Reports had emerged earlier in the week that fuel queues have begun to resurface in places like Lagos, Abuja, Nasarawa and Niger states.
However, the queues reportedly became worse on Thursday as petrol remains scarce on in the Federal Capital Territory and some neighboring states.
The situation has forced many filling stations to close shop, while the few ones with fuel to sell had to grapple with massive queues.
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The adverse situation has pushed the cost of the product to an average of N700/litre at stations run by independent marketers.
According to Punch, only a handful of NNPC retail outlets that dispensed the commodity stuck with the N617/litre price approved by the oil firm.
This led to a hike in transport fares in the affected states, as the few transporters who had petrol raised their rates.
Marketers have also attributed the troubling situation to inability to meet the high demands of PMS.
“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.” the Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abuja-Suleja Branch, Mohammed Shuaibu, disclosed.
He disclosed that only retail stations of NNPC are trying, as 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.” he said
Reacting to the development., the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC, Olufemi Soneye, cited logistics as the reason for the scarcity.
He, however, stated that the issue had been resolved and urged motorists not to get involved in panic buying because the national oil company and sole importer of petrol had enough products.
He said, “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
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