Business

Fuel queues persist in Lagos, others despite NNPC assurances

Published

2 years ago

August 26, 2024

Fuel queues persist in Lagos, others despite NNPC assurances

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja, Peter Uzoho in Lagos, Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City, John Shiklam in Kaduna, Ahmad Sorondinki in Kano and Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The long petrol queues in Abuja appeared to have shortened in several parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) at the weekend, although a number of filling stations were still shut, while some continued to sell for as much as between N700 and N800.

But in the outskirts of town, some stations were still selling the product for as high as N950, since the product had yet to fully circulate.
There had been biting scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol in Abuja for over a month, which later extended to more states of the federation, with the product selling for over N1,000 in some places before now.
Although in Abuja, the long stretches which had disrupted commercial and social activities were reducing, however, neighbouring states like Kaduna, Kano, Niger, Nasarawa, had yet to experience similar relief.

The Conoil and Total filling stations opposite the NNPC headquarters in Abuja had shorter queues compared to earlier in the week when THISDAY visited.
At the NNPC mega station in Zone 1 and the one opposite GSM village, the long lines which dominated most of the roads around the area, had begun to shrink. The NNPC was still selling for its subsidised rate of N617 per litre as of yesterday evening.

Last week, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) said that the shortages were caused by ‘distribution’ challenges, even though it failed to specifically tell Nigerians what caused the current scarcity which had lingered in Abuja and environs for over four weeks.
In several parts of Abuja, a 10-litre container of the product which hitherto sold for as high as N12,000 at roadside black markets, had fallen to N10,000. Many private filling station owners also sold for circa N700 per litre within town.

Earlier, NNPC’s Vice President (Downstream), Dapo Segun, apologised to Nigerians over the queues blaming weather conditions for the insufficient distribution of fuel across the country.
“A number of the causes are outside of our control but we’ll do our best to manage. We do not like to make excuses,” Segun stated.
In Lagos, marketers of petroleum products and motorists expressed their frustration and anger over the continuous petrol scarcity in the nation’s commercial nerve centre and other parts of the country despite promises by the NNPC which is the sole importer and supplier of the product in the country.

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Since last weekend, residents of the state have been going through harrowing experiences just to buy fuel to power their vehicles, tricycles, motorcycles and generators.

Despite the national oil company’s assurances, nothing positive has happened as most of the filling stations in Lagos still didn’t have the product as of the time of filing in this report.
The few filling stations that had petrol in the city had their premises crowded with vehicles, tricycles, motorcycles, jerrycan-bearing buyers as well as those that came with fuel tanks of their generators and motorcycles.
At AP filling Station on Awolowo Road Ikoyi, THISDAY observed that buyers crowded the facility in their desperation to buy, as the outlet was selling relatively cheaper at N720 per litre.

Mobil filling station on the same road was also selling but with queues while the nearby Total filling station was not selling and was completely deserted because it had no product.
At NNPC filling station at Obalende, only buyers with jerrycans, generators and motorcycle tanks were being sold to. Although, the station was dispensing at N568 per litre but a buyer had to pay N1,500 first before being attended to.
The Northwest mega filling station at Gbagada was selling but with a massive queue at the premises that stretched several kilometres along the busy expressway. Similarly, Total filling station by Anthony, Gbagada, was also selling but in a skeletal manner.

However, there was no fuel at Conoil filling station at National Bus-stop Ikeja, and at NIPCO filing station at Mangoro axis as the two outlets were deserted.
Also, on the Mangoro axis, NNPC was selling with shorter queue, while another Conoil filling station nearby had no fuel when THISDAY visited.
In the same vein, NNPC filling at Akowonjo Roundabout had no fuel as of yesterday, but Nepal filling station very close to it was crammed with motorists and jerrycan-bearing buyers.

Again, the two NNPC filling stations on Egbeda-Idimu Road were submerged with queues, just as Eterna, Petrocam, Omalad, Alpha, Al-Moruf, IIG, NNPC, AP, and Mobil filling stations all located along the Isheri-Igando-LASU Road had no fuel.
When contacted to get their supply updates, a top official at the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), formerly MOMAN, who pleaded not to be mentioned, told THISDAY that he was tired of talking about the same issue every time without any improvement.
Admitting that the endless fuel supply challenge had got him demoralised like every other Nigerian, the source said he would only talk when he was in a good mood.

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Former Chairman of MOMAN and Managing Director of 11Plc Limited, owners of Mobil filling stations, Mr. Tunji Oyebanji, told THISDAY that NNPC was still giving them the usual quantity that was not enough for the market.
He said the queue was not likely to disappear unless product supply to marketers improved.
He said: “No much improvement yet. They are still giving us what they have been giving to us, which is not enough. So the queue is not likely to disappear since the supply from the source is not enough. So people need to shun panic buying and have the confidence that the supply will improve.

“As long as people keep on with their panic buying where they will go to the station and wait to fill up their tanks, the queue will continue. So like I said, let people have the feeling that whenever they come to the station, they can buy the quantity that will take them for that day. With that, the queue will reduce.
“We are hoping and praying for the supply to improve so that every filling station will have the product to sell, and this problem will end”.
Some of the motorists, who spoke to THISDAY, said they had lost confidence in the government, adding that all they get from their leaders was suffering and punishment.

A motorist at the Northwest filling station at Gbagada, Mr Ayodeji Amosun, said he had been at the facility for over five hours but was yet to get fuel.
“I came here to buy fuel since five hours. I have not gotten. I don’t even know if I can still get fuel today. All my business appointments have been cancelled today because I can’t drive to anywhere from here without fuel. My tank is empty. Is this how to be wicked to the people?
“Every time we go and vote but things remain the same. All we get from our government is promise upon promise without fulfilment. All we get from them is suffering and punishment.”

Efforts to get supply updates from NNPC proved abortive as the company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Mr. Olufemi Soneye did not respond to THISDAY’s text message and phone call as of the time of filing in this report.
However, Soneye had last Sunday, blamed the current product shortage on evacuation challenge, promising that NNPC would have that resolved by midweek.
He had stated, “We are currently experiencing some evacuation challenges in Lagos, but they should be resolved by midweek”.
The Rivers state chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association Of Nigeria (IPMAN) assured that in few weeks, the state will witness consistent supply of fuel in all the filling stations in the state.

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The state chairman of IPMAN, Tekena Ikpaki who spoke with THISDAY, was reacting to the public outcry over the increase in fuel price.
Ikpaki disclosed that there was an ongoing intervention in loading, and expressed the hope that soonest the issue of high fuel price will be resolved to douse the ongoing tension in the system.
“Whatever they see in the market now is just a function of short supply. Right now supplies are ongoing, hopefully tension will also die down because at this moment loading is ongoing.

“When there is short supply, price of fuel will be high and it will cause unpleasant situation in the system. And there is intervention loading from NNPC. As the loading continues there will be consistency of fuel and it will douse the pressure,’’ Ikpaki pointed out.
Meanwhile, THISDAY observed that fuel was sold between N800 and N950 in filling stations in Port Harcourt. However, there was no scarcity in the state.
It was also discovered that there was fuel in almost all the filling stations in Port Harcourt although rates were high, apart from the NNPC which still sold at N591 and N600 per litre.

An energy analyst, Mkpoikana Udoma, said the high price of fuel had badly affected the economy and had led to hardship experienced by Nigerians across the country.
Udoma said: “In fact, since our President on May 29, 2023 announced that subsidy is gone, automatically the price increased by more than 300 per cent which inadvertently affected the price of every commodities in the market.

“So, the high price of fuel has affected every aspect of the economy and further plunging the masses into poverty and hardship”.
In Edo, petrol scarcity is also persisting, with long queues of vehicles and high cost transport fare being the lot of residents of Edo State since the #EndBadGovernance protest.

Most fuel stations especially in Benin City, capital of the state have remained closed because there is little or no products to lift, according to a fuel station owner.
However, the few who were able to get products sold between N850 to N1,000 per litre. Commuters were the worst hit. For instance, a route which in the past attracted N200 to N400 now goes for as high as N500 and N800.
Similarly, in Kano, there was growing anger among motorists as a majority of filling stations belonging to oil marketers had virtually run out of stock for the past few days.

The situation has become even more challenging as motorists are forced to rely on black marketers who sell fuel at exorbitant prices.
The fuel shortage in Kano has led many government workers and businessmen to resort to trekking a long distances to their various destinations.
One of the residents, Abubakar Sadiq said he was forced to park his car because of non- availability of the fuel at filling stations and exorbitant price at the black market on the other hand.

He said: “It’s frustrating and disappointing when authorities fail woefully to provide lasting solution to fuel scarcity. Despite promises and efforts, the issue remains unresolved.”
In Kaduna, there seemed to be no respite for residents as fuel scarcity continued to bite harder, with the few fill stations that had petrol selling at exorbitant prices.

At the Rain Oil filling station in Barnawa area of Kaduna metropolis, petrol sold for N895 per litre; Omosco filling station along Yakowa road, was selling at N960 per litre while some black market filling stations at the outskirts of the town were selling the product for between N1000 to N1,100 per litre.
Some of the NNPC filling stations which usually sell the product at N620 per litre, especially those located at the Stadium Roundabout, Barnawa- near Living Faith Church and Kachia Road, after Indomie factory were not selling fuel.

Fuel queues persist in Lagos, others despite NNPC assurances

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Facebook, Instagram Global Outage: Over 130,000 Reports as Millions Logged Out

Published

21 hours ago

June 12, 2026

Trends Admin

Facebook, Instagram Global Outage: Over 130,000 Reports as Millions Logged Out

NEW YORK/LONDON/SINGAPORE – Meta-owned social media platforms Facebook and Instagram experienced a widespread outage on Friday, June 12, 2026, leaving millions of users across the world unable to access their accounts as the disruption affected the entire ecosystem of Meta-owned services.

The disruption affected Facebook’s main website, mobile application and Messenger service, with many users reporting that they were automatically logged out of their accounts. The trouble appeared to begin on WhatsApp before spreading across Meta’s platforms. Users attempting to access Facebook received error messages including “an unexpected error occurred,” “sorry, something went wrong,” and “Query Error.”

Visitors to Facebook’s website were shown a notice stating that the company was working to resolve the issue. The disruption began at approximately 10:00 AM Eastern Time (2:00 PM GMT) , with users reporting being unable to load feeds or access core features on affected platforms.

According to outage-tracking platform Downdetector, the scale of the disruption was substantial. Facebook recorded over 130,000 user reports at its peak, while Instagram logged approximately 9,500 complaints. Reuters reported more than 62,000 complaints for Facebook and over 8,000 for Instagram during the peak of the disruption.

Reports of the outage quickly flooded social media platform X, formerly Twitter, as users turned to the site to confirm whether others were experiencing similar problems. While Facebook and Instagram were the most affected services, WhatsApp and Messenger also experienced significant disruptions.

The outage appeared to be global, with complaints emerging from multiple countries within a short period. The disruption affected users across the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, Philippines, India, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the United Arab Emirates. In Singapore, reports about Facebook spiked on Downdetector at approximately 1:00 PM GMT.

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According to outage-tracking website StatusGator, users in the Philippines, India, Australia, Canada, and the United States also reported issues with Meta’s various applications. In Vietnam, users began reporting problems at approximately 8:40 PM local time, and the issue was reported resolved by approximately 9:20 PM local time.

Meta communications director Andy Stone confirmed the company was aware of the issue. “We’re aware people are currently having trouble accessing our services. We’re working on it,” Stone wrote in a post on X.

The company’s internal status page logged “high disruptions” across its business products, including Facebook Ads Manager, the Messenger Platform, the Messenger API for Instagram, and the WhatsApp Business Platform. Advertisers reported being unable to create or edit ads during the disruption, and Meta apologized “for any inconvenience.”

Notably, while Facebook and Messenger experienced issues, some users reported that Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp remained operational for certain regions or devices. However, many users still reported issues accessing these services depending on their location and device type.

The disruption was not limited to mobile applications. Users attempting to access Facebook and Instagram through web browsers also encountered error messages and were unable to load content normally. Some users reported that Facebook’s mobile app worked while the desktop site displayed errors, highlighting the uneven nature of the disruption.

Meta’s own status page, which is responsible for providing real-time information about platform responsiveness, failed to provide valuable data during the incident. Throughout the disruption period, the page displayed all services as having “no errors detected,” potentially leading users to believe the problem was on their end rather than the platform.

Downdetector’s own website experienced technical difficulties around the same time as the outage, though it was not immediately clear whether the two events were connected. Before becoming unavailable, the platform had logged tens of thousands of error reports within minutes.

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The disruption adds to a series of intermittent outages affecting Meta’s family of apps in recent years. In one major outage in March 2026, Facebook and Instagram users across several countries reported being unable to load feeds or access accounts for several hours. A separate disruption earlier that month also affected thousands of users globally.

Prior to 2026, Meta experienced major outages in March 2024, when the entire ecosystem including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Threads was down for over two hours, with Downdetector recording over 550,000 outage reports. Another similar incident occurred in December 2024, disrupting communication for millions of accounts worldwide.

Meta representatives have stated in both previous instances that the root cause stemmed from internal technical issues, emphasizing that these incidents were independent of each other and completely unrelated to external cyberattacks.

By midday Eastern Time (approximately two hours after the outage began), service was recovering unevenly, region by region. Meta marked some services, such as ad delivery, as resolved, while others remained “in the process of being restored.”

On the consumer side, Facebook was loading closer to normal and Downdetector reports were falling, though some users still saw empty Stories bars, stale feeds, or “Try Again” errors. In Vietnam, the issue was reported resolved by approximately 9:20 PM local time.

The scale of the disruption underscored the central role Meta’s platforms play in global communication and commerce. Even a few hours of downtime ripples through messaging services, business operations, and login authentication systems far beyond the social media feed.

Meta has not yet released an official statement regarding the specific cause of this latest outage as of the time of finalizing this report. The company has not provided an estimated timeline for when all services will be fully restored, though restoration efforts continue to proceed.

This is a developing story. Updates will follow as Meta provides official explanation of the cause and confirms full restoration of all services.

Facebook, Instagram Global Outage: Over 130,000 Reports as Millions Logged Out

Business

Elon Musk Becomes World’s First Trillionaire After SpaceX IPO Valuation Surge

Published

22 hours ago

June 12, 2026

Trends Admin

Elon Musk Becomes World’s First Trillionaire After SpaceX IPO Valuation Surge

Elon Musk has officially entered uncharted financial territory after becoming the first individual in history to reach a $1 trillion net worth, following the blockbuster initial public offering (IPO) of SpaceX, which was priced at $135 per share.

The milestone marks a dramatic reshaping of global wealth rankings, driven primarily by the surge in valuation of SpaceX, the aerospace and space exploration company at the center of Musk’s financial empire.

The SpaceX IPO has been described as one of the most significant private-to-public transitions in modern financial history. With shares debuting at $135, investor demand pushed the company’s valuation to unprecedented levels, instantly elevating Musk’s paper wealth. Before the IPO, Musk’s net worth was estimated at approximately $813 billion, already positioning him far ahead of other global billionaires, including Google co-founder Larry Page, whose estimated wealth stood at about $288 billion. Following the listing, Musk’s total fortune is now estimated at just over $1.005 trillion, making him the world’s first confirmed trillionaire on paper.

According to the IPO structure, Musk holds approximately 4.8 billion shares in SpaceX, representing about 42% ownership, along with around 350 million stock options exercisable at a significantly lower strike price of $8.39 per share. At the IPO valuation, his SpaceX equity stake alone is worth roughly $648 billion, while stock options contribute an additional $44.3 billion. Combined with his holdings in Tesla and other investments, Musk’s total net worth crosses the symbolic $1 trillion threshold.

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Despite the historic milestone, financial analysts emphasize that Musk’s trillion-dollar status remains highly dependent on market conditions. Once trading begins on the Nasdaq Composite, fluctuations in SpaceX share price could significantly impact his net worth. A strong opening could push his fortune higher, while a decline could bring it back below the trillion-dollar mark. This volatility underscores a key characteristic of ultra-high-net-worth wealth: it is largely paper-based and market-sensitive, rather than liquid cash.

Musk’s achievement places his personal wealth in the same category as the gross domestic product of some of the world’s largest economies. Only a small number of countries globally—fewer than 20—have economies exceeding $1 trillion GDP, highlighting the scale of the milestone. The development has also intensified discussions around wealth inequality. Advocacy group Oxfam America has previously warned that extreme wealth concentration reflects widening economic disparities between the ultra-rich and the rest of the world.

While Musk remains the primary beneficiary of the IPO, the listing is also expected to generate substantial wealth for employees and early investors. Reports suggest that approximately 4,400 SpaceX employees could become millionaires depending on post-IPO market performance, marking one of the largest employee wealth creation events in the tech and aerospace sectors.

Musk’s rise to trillionaire status highlights the extraordinary growth of privately developed space technology and the increasing financial power of high-growth innovation companies. However, analysts caution that such milestones remain fluid, as billionaire rankings and net worth estimates can change rapidly based on market sentiment and stock performance.

Elon Musk Becomes World’s First Trillionaire After SpaceX IPO Valuation Surge

Auto

Toyota moves to ease vehicle ownership amid economic challenges

Published

1 day ago

June 12, 2026

Trends Admin

Managing Director of Toyota Nigeria Limited, Mr. Kunle Ade-Ojo; Chairman of TNL, Chief Michael Ade.Ojo, and MD/CEO, AGL Motors Ltd, Alhaji AbdulAfeez Gabar Lado, at the presentation of the 2025 best customer award to AGL Motors in Lagos.

Toyota Nigeria unveils plans to ease vehicle ownership

As rising costs put car ownership beyond the reach of many Nigerians, Toyota Nigeria Limited says it is rolling out fresh measures to make buying and maintaining vehicles easier for customers.

Managing Director, Mr. Kunle Ade-Ojo, announced the plans at the company’s 2026 Awards and Customers’ Night in Lagos, where he reaffirmed Toyota’s commitment to expanding mobility solutions in the country.

A statement on Thursday quoted Ade-Ojo as saying Toyota Nigeria would continue to innovate and introduce strategies that would enable more Nigerians to own and maintain Toyota vehicles while enjoying quality after-sales support.

According to him, the company’s commitment goes beyond selling vehicles to ensuring customers enjoy a seamless ownership experience through a robust nationwide service network.

“We will continue to innovate, adapt and elevate our product offerings and service delivery. Our ambition remains clear: to sustain industry leadership while contributing meaningfully to Nigeria’s economic development as a responsible corporate citizen,” he said.

He added that the company’s future plans are aligned with Toyota’s global vision of enriching lives through mobility, with a strong focus on innovation, sustainability and value creation.

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Ade-Ojo noted that Toyota Nigeria’s success over the years had been driven by the loyalty of customers, support from dealers, suppliers, employees, financial institutions and strategic partners, as well as the guidance of the company’s board led by its founder and chairman, Chief Michael Ade-Ojo.

The highlight of the event was the presentation of the Evergreen Customer of the Year Award to Zenith Bank Plc, which retained the title as Toyota Nigeria’s highest-volume customer for 2025. In recognition of the achievement, Chief Michael Ade-Ojo presented the bank with the keys to a brand-new Toyota Starlet Cross.

AGL Motors emerged overall winner in the Customer of the Year category, while the Nigerian Army and Zenith Bank were named first and second runners-up respectively. The winners received office equipment valued at several millions of naira.

Toyota Nigeria also honoured excellence in automotive journalism. Theodore Opara of Vanguard was named Journalist of the Year, while Mike Ochonma of Transport World and Rasheed Bisiriyu of Newstrends received awards for their contributions to automotive reporting, mobility advocacy and industry analysis.

Speaking at the event, several dealers and business partners commended Toyota Nigeria’s investments in dealer development, technical training and workshop upgrades, describing the initiatives as critical to sustaining high service standards and customer satisfaction across the country.

Toyota Nigeria unveils plans to ease vehicle ownership