Fuel shortages continued to plague Abuja, Niger, Nasarawa, Kaduna, and other states on Friday, as long queues for Premium Motor Spirit, known as petrol, remained a common sight. Amid growing frustration from motorists, the Federal Government has intensified its crackdown, warning oil marketers that those caught hoarding fuel could lose their operating licenses.
On Friday, numerous fuel stations across the Federal Capital Territory were either shut down due to supply shortages or overwhelmed by long queues of vehicles, as motorists scrambled to secure the limited available fuel.
In the Kado axis of Abuja Municipal Area Council, some fuel stations, including AA Rano, were selling petrol at N849/litre, while others remained shut.
The petrol scarcity led to frustration among motorists who spent several hours in queues to get the product.
A taxi driver at an NNPC station, who gave his name as Matthew, expressed his concerns, saying, “I’ve been experiencing a lot of challenges due to the scarcity. It’s been a real headache. When you finally get the money, you’re supposed to spend it with happiness and joy, but instead, you’re spending it with sadness.
“As a taxi driver, I’m struggling to make ends meet. I have to work one day just to get fuel and another day to do my actual job. It’s a constant struggle. We’re facing challenges just to survive, and it’s not giving us any joy. We’re struggling in our own country, and it’s frustrating.
“I implore the government to look into this issue and find a solution. We need a better way forward to bring joy and prosperity back to our lives.”
Speaking during an inspection tour in Abuja, the Executive Director of Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure, NMDPRA, Ogbugo Ukoha, warned filling stations to desist from compounding the fuel supply crisis in Nigeria.
In a video clip shared by the regulator during an inspection at one of TotalEnergies filling stations, Ukoha told the managers of the outlet that “you need to take this (warning) very seriously. If you need security reinforcements, speak to your management.”
He said retail petrol stations should stop encouraging the sale of products to black marketers who dispense the products in jerrycans.
This, according to Ukoha, posed serious safety concerns and should be discontinued.
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Also on its X handle, the downstream regulator said it had declared war against the illegal sale of petroleum products.
“NMDPRA embarks on a war against the illegal sale of petroleum products, especially PMS in jerrycans. Filling stations are advised to desist from servicing illegal peddlers; failure to do so would result in the suspension of retail licences,” the agency stated.
Meanwhile, it was gathered on Friday that NNPC was still struggling to import enough petrol into Nigeria.
It was also learned that this development prompted depot owners to sell petrol to marketers at higher prices. The marketers are eager to buy the product at any price, knowing that Nigerians in desperate need of fuel will still patronise them.
On July 27, NNPC spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, said the fuel scarcity witnessed in Abuja and Lagos was due to a hitch in the discharge operations of a couple of 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,” Soneye had explained.
