Fuel rises to N1,300/litre as depots run dry

Numerous Premium Motor Spirit (also known as gasoline) stores are currently empty, which causes a shortage of fuel and long lines in Lagos, Ogun, some areas of Abuja, Niger, and several other states in the nation.

Black marketers have profited from the scenario, offering prices as high as N1,300 and N1,500 per litre in certain areas of Ogun and Lagos states.

At gas stations in Lagos and Abuja, lengthy lines began to form on Friday and have continued ever since.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited said on Saturday that a problem with a few boats' discharge operations was the reason for the tight supply and distribution of fuel, in response to the lengthy lines and shortages in several regions of the nation.
"NNPC Ltd. desires to tate that the tightness in fuel supply and distribution witnessed in some parts of Lagos and the FCT is as a result of a hitch in the discharge operations of a couple of vessels,” the NNPC Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, said.
"Working round the clock with all stakeholders to resolve the situation and restore normalcy in the operations," the corporation continued.

Nevertheless, despite the NNPC's pledge, things became worse when our journalists across the country discovered on Sunday that there were lengthy lines at a number of gas stations in key towns.

At Apapa, there is no loading

Our correspondent was informed by a depot operator, who wished to remain anonymous, that fuel was scarce in nearly every depot on Sunday, having been filled on Saturday.

According to the source, "supply gets late thereby affecting product load out," confirming that the depots are empty.

In the capital city of Abuja, it was noted on Sunday that notwithstanding the few filling stations that dispensed the product sold it at between N660/litre and N800/litre, black marketers took advantage of the scarcity to hike the price to about N1,200/litre, depending on the area of purchase.
This was announced at the same time that fuel marketers disclosed that most depots were empty and that they were also waiting in queue to load petrol.

As marketers, we are also taken aback by the fact that we are unable to obtain fuel at depots as we always did. We were also concerned since, until the NNPC released a statement on Saturday, we were unaware of the reason. The National Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Hammed Fashola, told one of our journalists, "Let's just believe what the NNPC said, that they would arrest the situation."

"I think that by the time they push things to the depots for marketers to choose from, everything will have returned to normal by the end of this week. Picking from the depots is our responsibility; and take it into our stations, and dispense to the public. But for now, most of the depots are dry. The implication of that is that the stations will be dry too. Most of our members have run out of stock. That is the cause of the queues we are experiencing now,” Fashola added.
Marketers were still purchasing PMS from private depots "at a price that is above N700/litre," he observed.

"As per our agreement, we are not currently receiving direct supplies from the NNPC. In relation to our population, what we are receiving is really little. Because of this, we are compelled to deal with the private depot owners, who are making things worse by offering exorbitant prices.

This explains why independent marketers often sell for about N800. There will be problems until we deal with this direct supply issue. We are always yelling at the NNPC to properly investigate that area since there is a serious issue with our distribution system, and until they fix it, we will continue to have this issue of fuel scarcity.”
Clement Isong, the Executive Secretary of the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria, concurred that the stock had been low but was unable to predict when it will rise.

The issue is that there is a low supply because it has been difficult to import the goods into the nation from the warships. Everyone is waiting in queue for products, and we are all searching for NNPC products. When everything will return to normal is only known by the NNPC. It's the only provider," he said.

When asked when the fuel supply situation will improve, Olufemi Soneye, the NNPC spokesperson, remained silent till this report was submitted on Sunday.

N1,500 per litre in Lagos's Ogun

Many gas stations did not open for business on Sunday, according to our journalists who visited portions of Lagos and Ogun states; the few that did had long lines of cars and customers purchasing jerrycans. Depending on the region, black marketers made a great profit selling to eager drivers for between N1,200 and N1,500 per litre.

Elijah Sunday, a bus driver, bemoaned the difficulty in getting PMS when he met with one of our correspondents at the Ketu motor shop in Lagos.

"We had to raise the rates because we have been having trouble getting fuel for the past few days and it is expensive," he said.

A minibus driver in Lagos who runs the Eko Hotel-CMS route insisted on N300 rather than N200, citing the fuel scarcity.
There were lines for fuel at PM Petroleum on the Oshodi-Apapa Motorway at the Cele Bus Stop. There was a large queue of cars at the NNPC station in Ogudu and the North West filling station near the CharlyBoy Bus Stop in Gbagada, Lagos.

Petrol was sold for N780 per litre at Petrocam, a filling station in Ajao Estate, Lagos.

NNPC station on the Cele Motorway had a significant queue, based on observations, and the pump price was N568 per litre.

In Ipokia, an Ogun State border community, a litre of PMS was sold for N1,200, according to information obtained by one of our correspondents on Sunday.

Similar events also occurred in a few Abuja residential neighbourhoods, where black marketers offered to sell petrol for between N1,000/litre and N1,200/litre.
Following the prohibition on the supply of fuel in border regions, residents of Idiroko, Ajegunle, Maun, Ijofin, Agosasa, Madoga, and other areas in the Ipokia Local Government in Ogun State, claimed they now only conduct business with black marketers.

Since we are in a border location, you should be aware that the entire local government area is served by roughly four fuelling stations. Right now, they charge N870 per litre, while black merchants charge N1,200. That is the penalty we get for being border residents, said one of the locals, Sam Adegoke.

In the capital of Ogun State, a large number of filling stations failed to sell the merchandise, and those that did preyed on gullible customers who paid up to N1,000 before receiving the goods.

comparable situation in the South-South

Drivers waited in queue for hours to fill up at the NNPC mega station on Sapele Road and NIPCO in Auchi's Jattu neighbourhood in Benin City, the capital of Edo State.

The oil is offered for N591 per litre, the lowest price in the state, therefore the large lines at the NNPC station are not unusual.

A litre of PMS cost between N750 and N800 in other Benini stations.

Black marketers in the North

Fuel in Gombe sold for between N850 and N1,000 at the major stations, but black marketers made a tidy profit selling it for N1,250 per litre as irate drivers turned to them after the shortage.

"You might consider the quantity offered by the roadside vendors (black marketers) to be costly, but when you find yourself in a bind and unable to access a petrol station, you will be forced to use their services regardless of the exorbitant price," said Usman Abubakar, a biker.

Drivers in Jos, the capital of the Plateau State, voiced alarm over the ongoing shortage and high price of the good, claiming that it has made the already difficult economic conditions worse.

In some areas of Jos, black traders sold litres for N1,300.

Philip Gyang, a driver, claimed that he had been waiting in queue for more than four hours at the NNPC petrol station on Dogon Karfi Road but was unable to purchase the goods.
Gyang bemoaned, "I paid N1,300 per litre at the black market before joining the queue at the NNPC outlet, where I eventually couldn't get to buy."

Margaret John, a resident of Jos, claimed that the scarcity has raised the state's cost of living even further.

Can you believe that on Sunday, while I was heading to church, I spent N500 to get from Polo Roundabout to Anguldi? The driver insisted that I pay N700 on my way home; it's not humorous. People have already been griping about the difficult economic circumstances, and now the lack of fuel and its high price are making matters worse.

A car owner in Minna, the capital of Niger State, claimed that because of the shortage of fuel and the rapidly rising costs, he had left his automobile at home.

Indeed, I have a car but I am not using it now. How many litres of fuel will I buy to be able to come to work? But with two or three litres of fuel, I can come to work on my motorcycle. It is not easy but it is cheaper. This government must act fast, Nigerians are suffering,” a state civil servant, who identified himself simply as Mutum, said.
In the states of Taraba and Katsina, lines have also reappeared.

According to our correspondents, there were lengthy lines on Sunday in a number of locations throughout Katsina and Jalingo, the capital of Taraba.