SENIOR officials of major petroleum marketers across the country have kept mum over possible price hikes following a build-up of longer fuel queues.
Various union bodies of petroleum marketers have yet to issue an official statement on the scarcity, and many filling stations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Kaduna state have shut down.
The ICIR called the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) for its response to the situation, but calls and messages sent to its leadership were not replied to.
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The queue build-up may not be unconnected with the global surge of Brent crude, which sells at 89.22 per barrel, and the possible move to hike the price by marketers.
The $89.22 per barrel price puts the average official cost of fuel at about N900 if freight charges and logistic costs are built into the cost as Nigeria waits for the take-off of the Portharcourt and Dangote refineries, which could bring down the price by about 15 per cent.
Nevertheless, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has pegged the price at N617 per litre in Abuja and about N600 in some parts of the country.
It continues with its price peg despite the deregulation of the petroleum upstream and downstream sectors.
Findings showed that in Lagos, there are insignificant fuel queues in the metropolis and Ogun States on Thursday, April 25, amid growing fears of possible fuel hikes.
The ICIR reporter in Lagos also observed Gbagada, Ojudu-Berger, and some filling stations along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway; fuel was sold relatively at N635 in most filling stations, not NNPC Ltd.
However, following the panic buying in other states, the NNPCL said it had resolved the cause of the challenge in the fuel supply.
The NNPCL disclosed this in a statement on Thursday by its chief corporate communications officer, Olufemi Soneye.
“The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) wishes to clarify that the tightness in the supply of premium motor spirit currently being experienced in some areas across the country is due to logistics issues, which have been resolved,” the statement said.
The state-owned oil company reiterated that the prices of petroleum products were not changing.
It urged Nigerians to avoid panic buying, adding that the product was in large quantity in the country.
NNPC’s pump price selling below N600 in Lagos
The pump price of petrol at the NNPCL filling stations in Lagos state is below N600 per litre, while it has gone above N600 in other filling stations.
At the NNPCL filling stations in Ojudu-Berger and Alapere-Estate, the pump price of fuel is at N568, while other filling stations not owned by NNPCL were selling at a higher rate.
A TotalEnergies filling station along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, around the Alausa-Secretariat, was selling at N603, while a Conoil filling station a few meters away was selling at N608.
A fuel attendant at Conoil told the reporter that most of the filling stations, like Conoil and Mobil, could sell at a cheaper rate than other filling stations owned by individuals.
“The marketers that have depots like Coniol, Mobil, and others will sell at a lower price than filing stations that are owned by private individuals who do not have depots,” the fuel attendant said.
In some privately owned filling stations, the pump price of fuel was about N640.
At Petrocam filling station in Mowe, Ogun State, the pump price of fuel was selling for N640 and Ardova at N635.
Queues in Abuja
In Abuja, the fuel queue is intensifying with some marketers selling above N700.
A motorist, Babajide Ayetoto, lamented that he had been in the queue at NNPCL in Kubwa Road since 7 am.
He wondered what could have resulted in the fuel scarcity this time.
“I have been here since 7 am today, yet no assurance that I could get the product. The situation is terrible. I wonder what could be the reason for this hardship”, he stated.
A resident of Lugbe in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nnamdi Okorie, said the situation was the same at the Wuye area where he queued to buy fuel.
“I queued at Shafa filling station, Wuye, for hours before I could get the product. On my way from Lugbe, I could not see any filling station dispensing”, he said.
Checks by The ICIR on Wednesday and Thursday showed that virtually all fuel stations along the Airport Road and Kuje community of the FCT were shut.
Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government removed fuel subsidies, causing the pump price of fuel to rise to between N617 and N690 per litre from N238.
PMS scarcity as fuel sells N1,000 in Kaduna
Kaduna residents are grappling with severe fuel scarcity, with motorists compelled to purchase the product for as much as N1,100 per litre from black market vendors.
Findings showed that many residents going to work were stranded due to fuel scarcity across the state, and very few commercial operators provided services.
Most filling stations were not dispensing fuel, and the few that did hiked the pump price to between N750 and N810 per litre. Despite the hike, long queues were seen at the stations.
A resident, Mohammed Amin, said he bought two litres for N2 200. He stated that if the problem persisted, he would abandon his vehicle at home and opt for commercial transportation.
Findings showed that commercial operators also use the scarcity to hike their fares.
A commuter, Amina Isa, who said she usually paid N100 from the NNPCL filling station in Millennium City in the state to a roundabout where she picked another tricycle to her destination, said, “After waiting three hours without getting a ride, I had no option but to board the next available keke who charged me N300 to the same destination.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.