Categories: metro

24 hours to Christmas, Nigerians stranded at fuel stations

The biting fuel scarcity in the country is making many Nigerians to sleep over at fuel stations to get the product.
It is 24 hours to the Christmas and survey by the NPO Reports indicate many fuel stations. Are shut against customer either because there are no products to sell or as a result of deliberate act of hoarding.
Most biting is the situation for Nigerian holiday makers who are traveling for the Christmas celebration.
The development is in spite of the claims by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s claims that there is 2.5bn liters of fuel for sale.
Media reports had quoted the Secretary, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abuja-Suleja, Mohammed Shuaibu, as saying that there was still PMS supply shortfall from the NNPCL.

He said the NNPCL was focusing on city centres of Abuja and Lagos, while neglecting areas that were far away from cities, adding that aside from queues in these areas, the cost of petrol in those locations was higher than N200/litre.

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Shuaibu said, “There’s a shortfall in supply but the NNPCL will be telling you not to panic, and that they have products when we cannot see them. Look at our depots, our tanks are empty.

“No petroleum marketer that used his money or borrowed money from the bank to build and invest in a filling station will lock up his station at the end of the day without any cogent reason.”

Asked whether depots in Abuja were empty, for instance, the Suleja Depot, Shuaibu replied, “It is. Any product you see today that comes through the Suleja Depot is by bridging.

“And when you go down south, you’ll be buying from depot owners at a high price. That is why the NNPCL should be held responsible. It should explain why the product is not in circulation.”
At many filling stations on Saturday, the queues had become
Much longer.
At the NNPC station at Ojodu area of Lagos, the queue had gone as far as two kilometers both sides. Many are believed to have slept in their cars.
For those hoping to get fuel along the routes of their journey, it is a mixed situation.
An NNPC fuel station shortly before Shagamu was selling fuel as at 7:30am on Saturday.
However many travellers who had set their minds on getting fuel at the station are on very long queues that may affect their journeys.
This was just as the NPO Reports observed that many stations on the Lagos-Ibadan Highway were shut.
At the AS-Sallam station, the gate were shut as they dispensing machines were covered.
At the Conoil station before the Shagamu Interchange, the product was not being sold in the morning of Saturday.

Trends Admin