Despite NNPC’s assurances, fuel scarcity intensifies as petrol hits N400 per litre

Despite claims, Friday, by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation that it has begun a 24 hour fuel supply in its depots nationwide to battle the current scarcity, nationwide, reports indicate that the fuel scarcity has intensified with the products selling for up to N400 in parts of the country.

The Corporation’s Executive Director, Commercial of the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC), a downstream subsidiary of the NNPC, Mr. Justin Ezeala had said the corporation has adopted extended hours of operations where for security reasons or locations it is not feasible to operate 24 hours.

He said: “We are going to start from about 5am and sell till about 9/10pm.”

Close to 50 trucks loaded with PMS were dispatched (Friday) to various filling stations in the FCT.

He advised Nigerian against panic buying or hoarding of product because there is enough Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol to last the country for the next 35 days.

“We currently have within our depot 66m litres of PMS, we have our partner depot which is the private depot 118m litres of PMS, marine stock 428m litres and then the major marketers have about 44m litres. This gives us a total of 657m litres and based on our daily consumption estimate of 40m litres we are looking at about 16-and-half days sufficiency”.

However, investigations, weekend, revealed that petrol now sells in some states as high as N400 per litre while in others it goes between N110 and N200.

However, some filling stations as at press time on Saturday, according to our correspondents, still sold the product at the official price of N87 per litre. These filling stations, findings showed, were however few and inundated with long queues of motorists, motorcyclists and other users.

In Cross River State, a litre of petrol was sold for as high as N400 in Calabar and environs on Saturday morning.

Tanker drivers across the state and beyond had on Monday refused to load the product from the Calabar Depot in protest of the deplorable situation of federal roads in the state.

Most service stations had yet to commence the sale of the product to the public. Black marketers had continued to have a field day.

Many petrol stations in Akwa Ibom State, particularly those in Ibesikpo/Asutan, Eket, and Itu Local Government Areas on Saturday sold petrol at N200 per litre.

In Uyo, the State capital, while the price fluctuated between N170 and N180 per litre, motorists said many of the filling stations had adjusted their metres regardless of the amount they pay for buying fuel.

In Ondo State, long queues of vehicles persisted in many filling stations in many towns on Saturday even as many of them sold petrol at N120 per litre.

In Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, there long queues at filling stations on Saturday especially those owned by major marketers.

A litre of petrol was being sold between N100 and N110 depending on the distance of the area to the state capital.

In Enugu State, petrol was sold between N130 and N150 per litre.

In Oyo State, fuel scarcity reached a height as few vehicles plied the roads.

More than 85 per cent of major oil marketers were not selling the product while a few independent oil marketers sold between N110 and N120 per litre.

The queues by motorists for petrol continued on Saturday in some filling stations in Abuja and Nasarawa State.

All petrol stations visited in Abuja on Saturday sold at the regulated price, but many were not open for business as they claimed not to have products.

In Benue State, the NNPC Mega filling station along Oturkpo road had queues over four kilometres long. It was the only fuel station selling at the official pump price of N87 per litre.

Meanwhile, black marketeers have taken over the town as they sold at N200 and N250 per litre.

In Gboko and the other local government areas it was sold at N170 per litre.

In Nassarawa State, only the NNPC mega station that sold at N87 per litre while others sold at N160 per.

In Bayelsa State, particularly Yenagoa, the state capital, a few filling stations that were selling the product on Saturday sold a litre of petrol between N130 and N150.

The NNPC mega filling stations in the Yenagoa metropolis were the only ones selling at the government regulated price of N87 but the queues were very long.

A litre of PMS was sold for N100 in many filling stations in Ogun State except NNPC stations and those of major marketeers on Saturday.

In Osogbo, the Osun State capital and other parts of the state, petrol was sold at N110 per litre.

In Lagos, our correspondent learnt on Saturday that while the NNPC and major marketers sold at N87, black marketers sold five litres of petrol at N600.