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Fuel queues persist in Abuja, black marketers sell for N300/litre

Published

4 years ago

May 10, 2022

…NNPC blames low loadouts, increased demand

Fuel queues persisted in the Federal Capital Territory on Monday as filling stations struggled to control desperate drivers waiting to buy the Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, at the official price.

Racketeers had a field day, selling a litre of PMS at N300 in different parts of the FCT.

In Kubwa, a litre of fuel went as high as N320, rising to N400 in Asokoro and other prime parts of Abuja, The PUNCH gathered.

One of the racketeers, who identified himself as Usman, said he stored fuel in several gallons, with the belief that fuel would be scarce at some point in the future.

Another racketeer, Bala, claimed that he was still selling his reserves.

“When there is scarcity, I buy from some filling stations at night. I usually pay extra N200 or more for a 10-litre gallon. I buy at N 2000 and sell N3,500,” he said.

Vehicle drivers told The Punch that they spent between two and four hours at various filling stations before buying PMS.

A commercial vehicle driver, George Akinsanya, said he spent three hours at Oando Filling Station opposite the NNPC depot in Abuja before buying the PMS.

Akinsanya said, “We need to find a solution to this perennial problem of fuel scarcity. It is looking like filling stations are looking for this type of opportunity to make money. Last time there was fuel scarcity, they sold at higher prices at night and limit sales to one or two pumps in the day.”

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A driver, Mr Udoka Uzondu, who said he waited to buy PMS at an NNPC depot in Abuja, urged the government to put an end to the scarcity to reduce the plight of the common man.”

Fuel queues have become a recurring decimal in Nigeria, especially the FCT. In the first quarter of the year, fuel scarcity disrupted economic activities, leading to an increase in inflation to 15.92 per cent, from 15.70 per cent.

The PUNCH reported on Monday that most filling stations in Abuja and neighbouring states of Nasarawa and Niger that dispensed Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, were on Sunday greeted with long queues.

It was observed that many other outlets were shut as they claimed not to have products to dispense, a development that led to the crowding of the filling stations that dispensed the commodity.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has ascribed the sudden appearance of fuel queues in parts of Abuja to low loadouts and increased purchases that characterise post-holiday periods.

In a statement, the spokesman for NNPC, Garba Deen Muhammad, said on Monday that the company had sufficient fuel supplies to satisfy the demands of Abuja residents for over six weeks.

The statement partly read in part, “The NNPC Ltd notes the sudden appearance of fuel queues in parts of Abuja. This is very likely due to low loadouts at depots which usually happen during long public holidays, in this case, the Sallah celebrations.

“Another contributing factor to the sudden appearances of queues is the increased fuel purchases which are also usual with returning residents of the FCT from the public holidays.”

He further said the NNPC and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, in conjunction with our marketing partners, had taken necessary measures to ramp up loadouts from all depots.

He assured all residents of the FCT and Nigerians that NNPC had ample local supplies and national stock in excess of 2.5 billion liters, with the sufficiency of more than 43 days.

“The NNPC Limited hereby advises motorists not to engage in panic buying as supplies are adequate as will become increasingly evident in the coming days.”

But the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr Muda Yusuf, urged the Federal Government to deregulate the industry to avoid long queue recurrences.

Related Topics:abuja Black Marketers Fuel queues

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Protests Rock Lagos Community Over EKEDC Estimated Billings

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Fatal NURTW Leadership Clash in Osun Leaves Two Dead; State Orders Park Shut Down

Published

6 hours ago

September 15, 2026

Hamdalat Bisiriyu

Fatal NURTW Leadership Clash in Osun Leaves Two Dead; State Orders Park Shut Down

As Olalekan Oyeyemi is buried in Osogbo, authorities transfer murder probe to the State Criminal Investigation Department.

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Lagos Power Outage: Ikeja Electric Blames TCN as Businesses, Homes Groan

Published

9 hours ago

September 15, 2026

Trends Admin

Lagos Power Outage: Ikeja Electric Blames TCN as Businesses, Homes Groan

Residents and businesses in several parts of Lagos are enduring prolonged power outages, with Ikeja Electric attributing the disruption to significant constraints on the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) network.

The development has triggered frustration among electricity consumers who say the prolonged blackout is disrupting household activities and commercial operations, while increasing their dependence on generators and other alternative sources of power.

Ikeja Electric, one of Nigeria’s largest electricity distribution companies, said the situation was caused by a reduction in the amount of electricity available to it from the transmission network.

According to the company, the transmission constraints have affected the volume of power it can distribute to customers across parts of its franchise area, resulting in extended periods of load-shedding.

The company said it was engaging with TCN over the situation and was working to improve supply to affected communities as soon as additional transmission capacity becomes available.

The latest disruption has affected customers in several parts of Lagos, with residents in areas including Akoka, Egbeda, Ojodu Berger, Ogudu and Shomolu reporting prolonged interruptions.

Some residents said electricity supply had been unavailable for several consecutive days, while others reported intermittent restoration followed by further outages.

The disruption has also affected small businesses and households that rely heavily on electricity for daily activities.

Business operators such as barbers, hairdressers, food vendors, cold-room operators, charging-centre owners, internet-dependent businesses and other small enterprises have been particularly affected by the unreliable supply.

For many households, prolonged outages have also affected refrigeration, water pumping, phone charging, internet access and other basic activities that depend on electricity.

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The situation has forced some residents and businesses to increase their use of generators, adding to operating costs at a time when fuel and other energy expenses remain high.

Some consumers have also resorted to commercial charging centres and other paid alternatives to keep phones, rechargeable devices and business equipment operational.

The latest disruption comes amid continuing challenges across Nigeria’s electricity value chain, where problems involving generation, gas supply, transmission infrastructure and distribution networks can affect electricity availability to consumers.

TCN operates the country’s transmission network, while electricity distribution companies such as Ikeja Electric are responsible for delivering available power to customers through their distribution networks.

This distinction is significant in the latest Lagos outage because Ikeja Electric has attributed the immediate supply shortfall to constraints on the transmission network, rather than announcing a fault affecting its entire distribution system.

Power interruptions in Lagos, however, have previously resulted from different causes.

Parts of the state have experienced outages linked to distribution equipment faults, infrastructure damage, planned maintenance and other incidents affecting electricity infrastructure.

Earlier disruptions in Lagos have also been associated with incidents such as tanker fires damaging electricity infrastructure, while transmission maintenance and constraints have caused supply reductions in other instances.

The varying causes mean that the duration and geographical spread of an outage can differ significantly from one community or electricity feeder to another.

Ikeja Electric has apologised to affected customers over the latest disruption and said it understands the difficulties caused by the reduced supply.

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The company said it was monitoring developments and engaging relevant stakeholders in an effort to restore improved electricity supply.

The latest development has again highlighted concerns over the vulnerability of Lagos residents and businesses to fluctuations in electricity supply.

For many small businesses, prolonged blackouts mean additional spending on diesel or petrol-powered generators, while households face similar costs when alternative electricity sources are required.

The disruption also comes at a time when businesses are already dealing with high operating costs, making extended reliance on generators an additional financial burden.

Consumers have increasingly called for more reliable electricity supply and better coordination among the different operators in Nigeria’s power sector.

The TCN, generation companies and distribution companies form interconnected parts of the electricity supply chain, meaning a constraint at one stage can quickly affect consumers downstream.

For Ikeja Electric customers, the immediate expectation is that transmission constraints will ease and supply will gradually improve across the affected feeders.

Until then, residents and businesses in the affected areas may continue to experience irregular electricity supply depending on available transmission capacity and the operational condition of individual distribution feeders.

The latest outage has therefore renewed the debate over Nigeria’s long-standing electricity challenges and the need for sustained investment in power generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure to provide more stable electricity for homes and businesses.

For Lagos, where thousands of businesses depend on electricity for daily operations, prolonged outages carry consequences beyond inconvenience, affecting productivity, household welfare and the cost of doing business.

Ikeja Electric said it would continue to provide updates as the situation develops and work with TCN to improve supply to affected customers.

Lagos Power Outage: Ikeja Electric Blames TCN as Businesses, Homes Groan

metro

Sokoto Shuts Mosque After Cleric Stabbing, Names Ulamas Probe Panel

Published

10 hours ago

September 15, 2026

Trends Admin

Sokoto Shuts Mosque After Cleric Stabbing, Names Ulamas Probe Panel

The Sokoto State Government has ordered the immediate closure of the Musa Lukuwa Jumu’at Mosque in Mabera, Sokoto metropolis, after a cleric was stabbed during Friday prayers and his attacker was killed by an angry mob.

The mosque, which the government describes as a crime scene, will remain shut until further notice. A committee of Islamic scholars (Ulamas) has also been constituted to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the incident and recommend measures to prevent a recurrence. The announcement was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Director General, Media and Publicity, Government House, Abubakar Bawa.

The crisis began on Friday, September 11, 2026, shortly after Malam Musa Lukuwa led the Jumu’at prayer. A young man among the worshippers attacked the cleric, stabbing him twice in the neck and left hand. Worshippers overpowered the suspect and beat him to death before security operatives could arrive. Police spokesman DSP Ahmad Rufa’i confirmed that the cleric was rushed to the Specialist Hospital in Sokoto, where he was treated and later discharged. Lukuwa subsequently appeared in a video circulated on social media, with a plaster covering part of his neck, appealing for calm and assuring his followers that he was in stable condition. The Commissioner of Police, Hayatu Hassan Shaffa, condemned the mob action as jungle justice and urged residents to allow due process. “It is imperative that we allow the law to take its course to ensure justice is served appropriately,” Shaffa said. Security personnel have been deployed to Mabera and other flashpoints, while investigations into both the stabbing and the mob killing continue. No arrest has been made in connection with the lynching.

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The attack was reportedly linked to a previous sermon in which the cleric cited a Hadith that some scholars, particularly those associated with the Tariqa order, considered offensive to the parents of Prophet Muhammad. Following the controversy, a young man identified as Mai Barewa allegedly threatened to kill Malam Musa Lukuwa and his senior student, Malam Murtala Assada. The cleric and his followers reported the threat to the police, leading to the suspect’s arrest and arraignment. A court later ordered that he be remanded in a correctional facility while the case remained pending. Four days before Friday’s incident, the clerics had also visited the Sokoto State Government House to submit a written complaint. The incident triggered protests and heightened tension around Sahara, Bello Way and Aliyu Jodi, with some businesses closing temporarily as security operatives moved into strategic locations. It came only days after protests erupted over the continued remand of another cleric, Dahiru Mai Barewa, who was accused of threatening Lukuwa and Malam Murtala Bello Assada. Police subsequently arrested about 20 people in connection with that protest.

The government said the committee would examine the circumstances surrounding the tension and make recommendations in the interest of peace and stability in the state. It also ordered a full investigation into the attack and the subsequent killing at the mosque. The state government further dissociated itself from any person, irrespective of status, who hides under the pretext of religion to undermine or disrespect Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), his parents, household and companions. It reaffirmed its “total obedience and respect” for the Prophet, his parents, household and companions, while urging residents to continue to show love and compassion to him. The government appealed to residents to desist from making inciting statements capable of jeopardising the peaceful coexistence for which Sokoto is known. It assured residents of its commitment to protecting the lives and property of every citizen in the state.

Malam Musa Lukuwa is an Islamic cleric from Lukuwa village in Gwadabawa Local Government Area of Sokoto State. He was among the early scholars associated with the Izala movement when it began gaining prominence in Sokoto State. He later became associated with the Salafiyya school of thought and established his own mosque, where he teaches Islamic studies and preaches to his followers. Lukuwa is known for his strict emphasis on adherence to the Qur’an and Hadith. His interpretation of religious practices, particularly issues surrounding the sighting of the crescent moon, has at times differed from the position announced by the Sultan of Sokoto. He maintains that decisions on the commencement and termination of fasting should be based on what he considers credible evidence of the sighting of the crescent, in line with the teachings of the Qur’an and Hadith.