Motorists in Lagos and Ogun states faced long queues at gas stations on Friday, sparking fears of a renewed fuel scarcity. The Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) attributed the queues to low product availability, while the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) confirmed no fuel stocks at their Apapa depots.
The UPDATE correspondents reported queues disrupting traffic flow at various gas stations across both states. Several stations, including Oando, Conoil, and TotalEnergies in Alapere, Lagos, did not have fuel, while others like NNPC Fadeyi and NIPCO witnessed long lines. The situation extended to Ogun, with NNPC, Mobil, TAS, NIPCO, and Enyo stations along the Mowe-Ibafo route lacking fuel.
The scarcity also impacted public transportation fares. A trader reported Ikotun to Cele Express fares rising from N400-N500 to N600, potentially due to limited fuel availability. Black market sales of fuel in jerrycans for N800 per litre emerged in Mile 2, Lagos.
Marketers acknowledged distribution hiccups. The National Vice President of IPMAN, Hammed Fashola, initially attributed the issue to a brief supply disruption and the Easter holiday, predicting normalcy by Wednesday. However, the situation worsened four days after the holiday.
NNPCL spokesperson Olufemi Soneye confirmed queues at their stations but denied a general scarcity in Lagos. “There were no products at our Apapa depots,” Soneye said. “We have carried out a review and there was no sign of scarcity in Lagos. It is only the NNPC Retail stations that have queues due to our price differential.”
However, MOMAN contradicted this, acknowledging queues at their stations and citing low stock over the Easter weekend. “There was low stock over the Easter weekend for some MEMAN members resulting from truck out to supply stations without replenishment at our depots,” said MOMAN Executive Secretary Clement Isong. “This led to outages in some retail outlets during the past week.” Isong assured the public that depots are currently receiving supplies and working extended hours to normalize the situation before the upcoming Sallah holidays.
Fashola reiterated the supply shortfall and the Easter holiday’s impact but expressed confidence that queues will ease as over 400 trucks loaded fuel at MRS depots on Thursday. “It is good not to allow queues to occur at all because to arrest the queues usually takes a little time,” Fashola said. “But from what I saw yesterday (Thursday), over 400 trucks went to the MRS depot to load fuel. So, I am very confident that the queues will soon ease off.” Fashola urged against panic buying and hoarding of fuel.
The situation highlights ongoing challenges in Nigeria’s fuel distribution system, leading to periodic scarcity and public frustration.
