Fuel scarcity: Filing stations in Lagos, Yola sell at N100, N250 per litre

Some oil marketers in Lagos are now selling petrol at N100 per litre, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
A correspondent of NAN, who monitored the situation, observed that many filling stations have had no supplies for more than a week.
Some of the marketers, who spoke to NAN on anonymity, denied claims by Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation that marketers were hoarding the product.
“The delay in the release of the first quarter import allocation was responsible for the scarcity,” a marketer said.
He added: “We cannot hoard what we don’t have.
“Government should avoid fire brigade approach to importation of petroleum product since we do not refine petrol in Nigeria.”
Another marketer also attributed the increase in the ex-depot price from N91.50 kobo to N95 per litre to the hike in petrol price in most filling stations.
He said that other ancillary costs had added to the cost of fuel between N100 to N105 per litre.
“For instance, the union fees, which usually is 30 kobo, now hovers around 50 kobo, so also the transport cost,” said a marketer.
Investigation carried out by NAN revealed that many depots in Lagos were still expecting the product from the NNPC.
The marketers, however, claimed that they were sourcing the product through third parties and could not afford to sell at N97 per litre.
Dr. Omar Ibrahim, the Acting Group General Manager (Public Affairs) in NNPC, still insisted that fuel scarcity in Lagos was artificial.
Ibrahim said the corporation would introduce new measures to halt the “artificially-induced fuel scarcity.’’
He said: “NNPC, in conjunction with the Department of Petroleum Resources and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, will commence detailed monitoring of fuel stations in Lagos and environs.”
Ibrahim said that the monitoring would also extend to other states of the federation to check the incidence of hoarding.
From Yola, Adamawa State comes the report that a litre of petrol is still being sold at about N250.
A check conducted by NAN in Yola and its environs on Monday showed that almost all the filling stations were closed down.
However, the commodity was available at road side “black markets” and filling stations owned by independent marketers on most major roads and streets.
The filling stations owned by the major marketers such as Total, Conoil and Oando were also shut down due to shortage in the fuel supply system.
Gibson Audu of the Total filling station on Banks Road, Jimeta, told NAN that the scarcity of petroleum products was caused by inadequate supply from Gombe and Warri loading depots.
“Anytime the fuel is available, we will sell it because the situation is seriously affecting us,” Audu said.
At some black market filling stations in Jimeta and Yola, petrol is being sold at N250 per litre.
Meanwhile, unemployed youths are now making brisk businesses at the road side black markets, popularly known as “Yan chuwa-chuwa” on daily basis.
The report added that the youth were selling the commodity at their choice cut-throat prices.
Haruna Jibo, hawking on Jimeta-Yola Road, said that he bought petrol from some filling stations in the night at a cost of N150 per litre.
“We sold it to motorists between N200 and N250 per litre,” Jibo said.
The situation had forced commercial motorists plying Yola-Jimeta Road and other routes to charge additional 10 per cent fare.
A top official of NNPC Yola depot declined to comment while the state Chairman of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Yahya Tobacco, was said to have travelled to Abuja when a NAN correspondent visited their offices.