Concerns as fuel queues worsen in Abuja, Lagos, others

Fuel queues have resurfaced in many parts of the country even as motorists lament the hike in the price of the premium motor spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petroleum.

Checks by our correspondents in Abuja, Kano, Kaduna and Lagos revealed that there were unusually long queues in most filling stations.

In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), most of the filling stations in the city were without supply.

Our correspondent who moved around the territory on Wednesday afternoon observed that major fuel retail stations have shut their gates to customers, saying they have run out of stocks.

Stations shut in Abuja included A.A Rano in Airport Road and Shafa at City Gate, Total, AP, Mobil and others across the city.

However, most of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) stations in the city had fuel but with long queues.

Meanwhile, few filling stations that still have the product to dispense have jerked up the pump price to as high as N750 per litre.

A motorist who identified himself simply as Emma said: “Obviously, this is not panic buying.  I think there’s no fuel. The government needs to save us this time around because we don’t want to experience the suffering we had some months ago.”

In Kano, motorists spent hours in long queues at most filling stations before they could buy fuel.

Long queues were more conspicuous at NNPC filling stations at Kofar Nasarawa flyover by Kano Line, Ibrahim Taiwo Road and Kano Club roundabout.

Our correspondent also reports that NNPC was selling fuel at N620 per litre, which explains why there was a long queue at the NNPC filling station.

Also, long queues were observed at the AA Rano filling station inside Bayero University’s new site while a litre of PMS was sold for N690.

In Kaduna, there were unusual queues at filling stations dispensing fuel including A.A. Rano filling station at Millennium City, Total filling station along Ahmadu Bello Way and MRS filling station along Ali Akilu Road all in Kaduna metropolis.

Daily Trust reports that there have not been queues at filling stations across the state for months.

Major marketers including A.A. Rano and Shafa stations were selling at N690 per litre, while others including Shema sold above N700 per litre.

For Residents of Ilorin, Daily Trust observed that a litre of fuel hit N700 over the weekend.

The situation has led to scarcity and fuel queues in some areas leading to widespread dissatisfaction among residents and motorists.

Also in Lagos, our correspondents observed long queues at major filling stations like the NNPC Retail outlets selling at N560 per litre while other major marketers selling at N590 and N610.

Why long queues persist – Marketers

An independent marketer, Abdulrasheed Olapade blamed the queue on an anticipated crash in the price of fuel, saying most marketers were conscious of any sudden price reduction.

Chairman of the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Ejigbo Depot, Akinrinade Akinade said the scarcity is due to low supply from depots.

“I believe there is a shortfall of PMS. Most depots that I know of in the Lagos area are not loading,” he said

“For IPMAN, we don’t have fuel anywhere. We don’t have product in all the places we load,” he stated. According to him, the scarcity was not as a result of any impending price reduction but because most depots have run out of stocks.

From Abdullateef Aliyu and Dotun Omisakin (Lagos),  Seun Adeuyi (Abuja), Ahmad Datti (Kano),  Maryam Ahmadu-Suka (Kaduna) &  Mumini Abdulkareem (Ilorin)