• Motorists queue for product in Lagos, Ado-Ekiti, Abuja, others
Nigerians are now paying more for petrol despite the official price still fixed at N162.50 and N165 per litre
Independent marketers, who started implementing a new price regime of between N170 to N190 at the weekend, insisted yesterday that it would be difficult for them to sell at the official pump price.
Besides, scarcity of the product resurfaced in Lagos, Akure, Ado-Ekiti, Abeokuta, Jos, among other towns in the Southwest.
The situation in Abuja worsened at the weekend with long queues at the filling stations where petrol is sold.
In Lagos yesterday, many independent stations were shut, the few that were dispensing recorded long queues.
It also caused gridlocks on Ikorodu Road, Ikoyi, Ikeja, and Airport Road, among other places.
Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) in a statement by its Lagos State Depot (LSD) Secretary, Akeem Balogun, said: “With the current price, there is no way we can sell less than N180 per litre.
“Members are hereby advised to sell at a sustainable price within their environment. Just make sure that the price is on your pump.
“Kindly contact the Secretariat should you have any authority challenging your operations.”
The chaos in the stations that dispensed fuel with a fewer number of pumps was worsened by jerry can-carrying residents in search of the product to power their generators.
In Lagos, the queues were most noticeable at filling stations owned by major marketers in traffic-prone areas like Oshodi, Ejigbo, Ikeja, Egbeda, Ikotun Igando, Iyanaiba and Satellite.
Nearly all stations operated by independent dealers in the commercial city did not open to motorists.
Motorists in Osun, Kwara, Rivers, Delta, Edo, Kano, Katsina, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Benue, Nasarawa, Borno, Yobe, Imo, Abia and Gombe had no challenges purchasing fuel from both major and independent dealers, but petrol still sold between N165 and N180 per litre.
A source in the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) attributed the scarcity to a dislocation in the supply chain.
The MOWAN source, who pleaded anonymity, explained that when there is a disruption of the supply chain, it “takes an average of almost two weeks to get it back to normal.”
He added that NNPC Limited restored supply late yesterday, adding that motorists and commuters may have to cope till the early part of next week when normalcy is expected to return.”
But IPMAN National Operations Controller, Mike Osatuyi, pointed out that the fuel being sold in the last one week by independent marketers was a part of the reserves they had.
He said: “Marketers have been loading from the stock they had and we are running low on the product because we haven’t received fresh supply. The situation will be worse if nothing is done urgently and when the old reserve we have runs out.”
But IPMAN Chairman, Lagos Satellite Depot, Ejigbo, Akin Akinrinade, had before the statement announcing the increment, blamed the shutdown of stations operated by independent marketers.
He, however, explained to reporters in Lagos that IPMAN members resolved to shut down their operations because they could no longer operate at a loss and in a hostile environment.
He said the government fixed pump price at N165 per litre even when current realities showed that the minimum price should be N180.
He said: “As you can see, the queues are back and this is the second time we are witnessing it this year.
