Despite last Wednesday’s directive by the Federal Executive Council, FEC mandating the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, to bring an end to the fuel crisis across the country before last weekend, current update however shows the situation is far from over.
The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, who briefed State House correspondents at the end of the meeting in Abuja said Mr. Kachikwu was given marching orders to ensure that the fuel scarcity did not last beyond last weekend.
The minister said efforts were being made to resolve the supply hiccup latest by the weekend.
Also, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, through its spokesperson, Ndu Ughamadu, expressed confidence that the long queues that resurfaced in most filling Station in Abuja, like most other cities nationwide, would “fizzle out in a matter of hours” last Thursday
Mr. Ughamadu, who blamed the crisis on panic buying by consumers in the wake of the strike threat issued by the Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria, IPMAN, said the corporation had sufficient stock of the commodity at its depots across the country
Besides, he said, further directives were given by the Group Managing Director of the Corporation, Maikanti Baru, for the number of tankers to be supplied to Abuja, Port Harcourt and Lagos to be increased, to help resolve the crisis as soon as possible.
But, monitoring reports from across the country revealed varying situations that showed no respite.
In Abuja and environs, long queues of motorists were still visible outside most Filling Stations visited on Monday, including the Conoil station directly opposite the NNPC headquarters.
Black market fuel hawkers in jerry cans, who reappeared in the streets of the Federal Capital City, after long spell out of business, had a field day serving anxious motorists outside filling stations at about N200 and above per litre.
The queue around the NNPC mega station in the Central Area District resulted in a serious traffic gridlock in the area.
All the filling stations visited in Karu site and along Nyanya-Jikwoyi-Karshi Express way were not selling petrol.
The NNPC station in Karu site, two Forte Oil stations, Total and Mobil filling stations along the Nyanya-Jikwoyi-Karshi Expressway were out of stock of the commodity.
Two other stations belonging to independent marketers at the CBN Junction and another at Phase 2 Junction on the Expressway were not selling.
Anxious motorists were compelled to patronise the black market, where 10 litres of fuel now sell for N2,500.
In Bauchi, most filling stations were closed for official business, as black market operation now thrives at night, with most independent marketers and road side vendors selling petrol at about N200 per litre.
Major marketers, like Mobil Oil and other big independent marketers only open their stations for few hours daily, mostly in the evenings, with a gallon of petrol selling for N1,000 per five litres.
One of the black market vendors, Ali Missau, aptly said, “We buy at N175 per litre from the filling stations at night and sell later to motorists between N200 and N220 per litre. We are having good business.”
In Damaturu, Yobe State, the situation has deteriorated, with independent marketers selling petrol at N195 per litre.
The situation in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, worsened at the weekend, with retail fuel price, which rose to about N150 per litre at the onset of the crisis, further rising to N170.
Some of the major marketers, including Mobil and Oando along Oron Road, Uyo, were not opened for business, Monday afternoon.
In Lagos, the fuel queues had reduced compared to last week. While some petrol stations were not selling fuel, others which did in Surulere and along Apapa-Oshodi expressway had few cars on the queue.
Normal sales were ongoing at the NNPC and Total filling stations at Oregun, Ikeja.
