Fuel Hike: Petrol Queues Resurface in Abuja, Niger, and Nasarawa

Eko Hot Blog reports that fresh queues for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, emerged in Abuja, parts of Niger and Nasarawa States.

Eko Hot Blog reports that the queues emerged following the closure of many independent marketers’ filling stations.

The closure was due to the inability of dealers to access petrol as a result of the hike in the ex-depot price of the commodity to N710/litre by private depot owners.

Motorists flocked to the few stations that still dispensed petrol, particularly those operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and some major oil marketers in Abuja and neighboring states.

This led to massive queues at outlets such as the NNPC mega station on the Gwarimpa axis of the Zuba-Kubwa Expressway, Conoil and Total filling stations opposite the NNPC headquarters in Abuja, and Salbas filling station at the Dei-Dei end of the Zuba-Kubwa expressway, among others.

Independent oil marketers, who own over 70% of filling stations across the country, blamed the hike in the ex-depot price of petrol by private depot owners for the queues.

According to the National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Abubakar Maigandi, private depot owners had raised the ex-depot price of PMS to N710/litre, while NNPC retail stations sold the same product at N617/litre.

Maigandi explained that independent marketers were finding it difficult to get the product and sell it in Abuja and neighboring states, as well as in other northern states, due to the high cost of PMS from private depots.

He added that IPMAN members were requesting additional volumes from NNPC to meet the demand, as the current allocation was insufficient.

Despite the queues, Maigandi assured that petrol was not scarce, and there were enough volumes in-country, imported by NNPC.

He attributed the queues to market challenges, which would disappear once independent marketers got products from NNPC or at fairly good prices.

Officials at the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources confirmed that there was enough product in-country and stated that the market had been deregulated.

NNPC officials also assured motorists that the queues would clear out fast due to the company’s sufficient product supply.

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