The severity of Nigeria’s economic situation is hard enough for many citizens. To add fuel scarcity to it can only result in one thing – a mental breakdown. It’s unimaginable to be searching for a litre of petrol that is already too expensive to buy at the moment.
The fuel scarcity which came upfront a week ago is scouring many states already; manynof them experiencing shortages and long queues at the few filling stations with available fuel. States like Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Edo, Anambra, Enugu, Abia, Benue, Plateau, Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, and Jigawa have all been affected by the scarcity.
The shortage initially hit the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) before gradually spreading to other areas. However, there has been some improvement observed in Abuja recently.
The scarcity has led to the closure of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) franchise stations in Lagos and other areas due to insufficient stock. The NNPCL and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) have attributed the scarcity to logistical challenges. They have assured the public that normalcy will return as product lifting by marketers has resumed.
According to NNPCL’s Chief Communications Officer, disruptions in supply typically take three to five days to resolve, and there is no need for concern as there is sufficient stock available.
IPMAN’s National President, Abubakar Maigandi, explained that the logistics problem involved the discharge of petrol from mother vessels to depots. Despite some IPMAN members raising pump prices, Maigandi stated that NNPCL had not communicated any price increases to them. Executive Secretary of the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), Clement Isong, also confirmed that petrol products were being received throughout the weekend, indicating that the logistic issue had been addressed. Therefore, there should be no need for panic if queues at filling stations persist.
As the acute petrol supply challenges extend into their second week, independent marketers have clarified that the issues causing the scarcity of the product will likely take an additional two weeks to be completely resolved.
Simply put, at this time, you’ll have to double up to get fuel.
The scarcity also extend to Ekiti state.