Key petroleum marketers associations have pointed to the inability of marketers to access products from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) as exacerbating the long queues forming at petrol stations.
Despite the NNPCL’s statement last Thursday, attributing the situation to supply tightness which it claimed to have resolved, marketers insist there is still insufficient supply.
According to a reliable source within the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), many members have placed orders for two weeks without receiving supplies.
The NNPCL, through its chief corporate communications officer, Olufemi Soneye, stated in a recent release that the tight supply of petrol being experienced in some areas across the country is due to logistical issues, which have now been resolved. Soneye also reassured that the prices of petroleum products remain stable and urged Nigerians to avoid panic buying, emphasizing the sufficiency of products in the country.
However, these assurances did little to alleviate the situation, particularly in Lagos, where many stations, mostly owned by independent marketers, remained shut down on Monday. Some outlets operated by the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) faced unprecedented long queues of motorists.
Echoing concerns raised by our source in IPMAN, the national president of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, confirmed that accessing products from the NNPCL has become difficult. He stressed the need for the NNPCL to match its assurances with action by providing specific locations for product evacuation or designated selling points for their members.
“The NNPCL has assured that there is availability of products, but they should match words with action. If they should tell us locations where we can evacuate petrol or designated selling points, our members are ready to take products and sell to Nigerians. I can confirm to you that there is a supply glitch; we don’t have access to petrol, and that’s why we are not selling,” Gillis-Harry said.
The treasurer of the IPMAN Board of Trustees, Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo, urged against panic buying, reiterating the NNPCL’s assurance that petrol is available. However, he noted that speculation about the possible deployment of Dangote petrol may have contributed to the scarcity.
Meanwhile, petrol scarcity worsened early Monday morning in Lagos, causing serious traffic congestion and leading to increased fares by transporters. In some locations, fuel stations were selling petrol for as high as N700 to N850 per liter.
The outskirts of the state were the hardest hit by the scarcity, driving up prices and exacerbating traffic congestion. Black markets emerged in many locations, selling petrol for as much as N900 per liter.
Several filling stations closed down, while those that remained open often refused to serve individual customers and motorists or sold petrol at inflated prices, reaching as high as N850 to N900 per liter, reflecting the heightened demand amid the scarcity.
