Fuel Scarcity: Economic activities grounded as marketers accuse NNPC of not supplying petrol

Marketers have blamed the fresh scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly known as petrol on a supply challenge from the major oil supplier in the country, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

The National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, made this known on Monday.

The fresh fuel scarcity has grounded many economic activities in states across the Federation as Nigerians queue up at filling stations nationwide.

While some motorists were lucky to get fuel at some retail outlets for between N700 and N,1200 per litre after hours of sweat and contest, others weren’t so lucky as many retail outlets were shut, with their excuse being supply challenge.

The shortage of the premium product saw the black marketers selling the petrol for as high as N2,000 per litre in states.

Snake-like queues at filling stations in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kano and other places have worsened the traffic situation in the states as the long queues spilt on major roads, hindering movement just as thousands of people were stranded at bus stops with transport fares as high as double the former amounts.

In Lagos, though many outlets owned by independent oil marketers remained shut as NNPC retail outlets sell petrol at N568 per litre but not many motorists could survive the unending queues and jostling for sometimes six hours.

Meanwhile, last Thursday, NNPC spokesman, Olufemi Soneye, said the “tightness in the supply of Premium Motor Spirit currently being experienced in some areas across the country is as a result of logistics issues and that they have been resolved”.

The NNPC also said the prices of petroleum products will not change, urging Nigerians to avoid panic buying as there is a sufficiency of products in the country.