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Fuel Scarcity Hits Abuja and Surrounding States Amid Protest Fears
Fuel shortages are reappearing in Abuja and neighboring states due to concerns over a planned nationwide protest, causing station closures and long queues.
EKO HOT BLOG reports that fuel shortages are reemerging in Abuja and neighboring states such as Niger, Nasarawa, and Kogi, as filling stations close due to concerns over a planned nationwide protest.
Oil marketers are worried about potential disruptions, leading to the suspension of fuel sales at several retail outlets, including those operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited on the Kubwa-Zuba expressway.
Similar closures have been observed in parts of Niger and Nasarawa states, as well as in Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State.
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This situation has caused long queues at the few stations still dispensing fuel, such as AYM Shafa in Dei-Dei, Abuja, and the NNPC in Zuba, Niger State.
In Lagos State, many stations shut down on Friday, raising concerns about an impending shortage. The limited stations that remained open charged up to ₦800 per liter of petrol.
Oil marketers attributed the closures to both a lack of fuel supply and fears surrounding the nationwide protest.
According to the Punch, motorists in Ogun State faced long lines as they sought petrol amid fears of a looming scarcity.
In the Magboro and Ibafo areas along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, chaotic scenes unfolded as vehicles lined up for over 100 meters at Quest Filling Station, where only one of three petrol pumps was operational.
Saheed, a commercial bus driver heading to Ibadan, expressed frustration after waiting for over an hour.
“I have been here for more than one hour. I didn’t expect such a long queue. Although one of our drivers mentioned a smaller queue earlier, I didn’t anticipate this.
Fuel Scarcity Hit Abuja
“My passengers are already complaining, but there’s nothing I can do. I can’t use my urine to drive them to Ibadan. We just have to wait for our turn,” he lamented.
At NIPCO Filling Station in Magboro, diesel was priced at ₦1,200 per litre, while petrol cost ₦675 per litre. Although four out of five petrol pumps were functioning, the demand far exceeded the supply.
Mohammed Shuaibu, Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abuja-Suleja, explained that some stations may lack fuel due to supply issues, but many marketers are also preemptively closing to prevent losses amid protest fears.
Shuaibu said, “Some of them may not have products to dispense due to unavailability.
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“However, many marketers are worried about the proposed protest and are already taking measures to prevent losses. Closing shops is one of such measure and this, of course, is going to cause queues in such locations because the number of stations selling petrol would be reduced.
“I am in Lokoja now, and many stations are not dispensing petrol. This is not a good thing because we only recovered from the fuel queues recently in major cities across the country, though that situation was due to a drop in supply from NNPC.”
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