The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd. has assured Nigerians that the current fuel scarcity and queues will be cleared out by Wednesday, May 1.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the Chief Communications Officer of NNPCL, Mr Olufemi Soneye, stated on Tuesday in Lagos.
Soneye mentioned that the company currently has an availability of products exceeding 1.5 billion litres, which can last for at least 30 days.
“Unfortunately, we experienced a three-day disruption in distribution due to logistical issues, which has since been resolved.
“However, as you know, overcoming such disruptions typically requires double the amount of time to return to normal operations,” he said.
Soneye added, “Some folks are taking advantage of this situation to maximize profits.
“Thankfully, product scarcity has been minimal lately, but these folks might be exploiting the situation for unwarranted gain.
“The lines will be cleared out between today and tomorrow,” Soneye assured.
Also, Mr. Hammed Fashola, the National Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr Hammed Fashola, expressed optimism that the queues in Lagos and Ogun would ease off this week, echoing the reassurances of the NNPCL.
However, Fashola noted that the queues in Abuja might persist a bit longer due to the distance from Lagos.
“The information available to us from the NNPCL was that there was a logistics problem, and when that happens, it will disrupt the supply chain.
“That might be a delay in the movement of ships from the mother vessel to the daughter vessel before it gets to the depot tanks.
“Before we can correct that, surely it will take some days. I think by Tuesday or Wednesday, there will be more products available for lifting by marketers.
“It might take time before it can ease off in Abuja, considering the distance to Lagos and the bad roads; Lagos might be calm this new week,” Fashola assured.
NAN correspondent who monitored the situation on Monday, reported that stranded motorists and commuters in Lagos have expressed concern over the frequent fuel scarcity in the metropolis. This has led to a reduction in the number of commercial vehicles operating, resulting in fare hikes.
The situation in Lagos showed that only a few filling stations were selling fuel, with long queues in most parts of the city. Similar conditions were observed in Abule-Egba and its environs, including Abbatoir Road in Agege, Akowonjo Road, Bariga, Fola-Agoro, and the popular Lasu-Igando Road.
The few stations that had petrol available had long queues of vehicles stretching for some meters.
Throughout the metropolis on Monday, queues were seen at filling stations like Mobil, NIPCO, TotalEnergies, Forte Oil, and ConOil along Ikorodu Road.
At locations such as North West at Maryland, Gbagada, NIPCO along Ijede Road in Ikorodu, and TotalEnergies at the NNPC bus stop in Ejigbo, queues stretched to about 500 meters from the pumps.
