Petrol Price has reportedly crashed to over N1,000/litre amid scarcity in some states of the federation.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the scarcity of petrol has led to widespread queues by motorists at filling stations in Abuja, Kaduna, Niger, Adamawa, Kano, Bauchi, and Delta, among others.
Although the queues were not severe in the southwest, findings showed that the cost of petrol in most of the affected states was close to N1,000/litre at filling stations.
Marketers explained that the South-West had fewer queues because petrol normally moves from the coastal areas in the zone to the North, adding that the recent protests halted the free movement of trucks to other regions.
ALSO: Nigeria’s Inflation Rate Drops For The First-Time In 19 Months
They further noted that suppliers of petrol would first supply their stations in the South-West before moving products to other regions, stressing that the low supply had made it tough to have enough products to take other states far North.
Black marketers took advantage of the situation in states that had severe scarcity, as they sold petrol for between N1,200/litre and N1,500/litre depending on the area of purchase.
This led to a hike in transport fares in the affected states, while many passengers spent several man-hours waiting for vehicles at different bus stops to get to their destinations.
Oil marketers blamed the prolonged petrol scarcity on the limited supply by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, stressing that the development had become worse to the point that the national oil firm now allegedly rations PMS to one truck per state.
NNPC stayed mute when contacted to speak on the persistent fuel scarcity and the claims by dealers that it was rationing PMS supply.
NNPC is Nigeria’s sole importer of petrol. Other marketers stopped importing the commodity due to their inability to access the United States dollar required for fuel imports.
Some Nigerians on social media asked NNPC to explain why the scarcity has continued to linger.
Since July 27, 2024, when NNPC blamed the fuel scarcity on a hitch in the discharge operations of some vessels, the situation has yet to record any significant improvement.
