For another time this year, indications emerged that fuel queues have resurfaced in petrol stations across Abuja, the nation’s capital city, with many motorists scrambling to get petroleum products.
The immediate cause of the latest queues in Abuja remains unknown as filling stations in the Wuse, Bwari and Lugbe areas of the FCT sold petrol at prices ranging from N162 to N165.
PREMIUM TIMES report that some filling stations were shut to buyers.
Shafa filling station located opposite Optima fuel station, airport road Lugbe was shut. An official told PREMIUM TIMES that they just exhausted their stock.
Similarly, the NIPCO filling station along the same airport road, Lugbe, was opened but an official said the station had no petrol stock.
A long queue was seen at NNPC retail outlet central business district area and Oando in Wuse Zone 1 while Saddi Kamal, Mrs oil, Dan oil and Danmarna petroleum limited, located along Lugbe airport road, were under lock Sunday morning.
Earlier in the year, fuel scarcity hit major Nigerian cities including Abuja and Lagos as people scrambled to get petrol for their cars and their electricity generators at a time of rising temperatures.
In February, the Nigerian government said methanol found in imported fuel exceeded Nigeria’s specifications. The development resulted in a shortage of petrol and queues reappearing in major cities.
The crisis lingered for weeks — and in some places like Abuja, for several months — despite the federal government saying it had sufficient stock of petroleum products for distribution across the country.
Nigerians especially in Abuja have endured an unpredictable supply of fuel for over a year now, with filling stations operating at reduced capacity.
When PREMIUM TIMES visited Shema filling station along Lugbe, Airport Road, a crowd of motorists struggled among themselves to buy petrol Sunday morning.
“We are so surprised to see this queue this morning, I can’t figure out the reason for this,” a pump attendant at the station, who craved anonymity, said.
A civil servant who identified himself simply as Joseph said: “From what I’m seeing, I don’t think this is panic buying, I think there’s no fuel and whatever the reason might be I don’t know but the government needs to save us this time around because we don’t want to experience the suffering we had some months ago.”
Mr Joseph said the filling stations were hoarding the fuel because most fuel stations were shut against buyers.
“I drove to town and the only fuel station that I saw selling was Total opposite NNPC Tower. There was too much queue there, that’s why I had to come down to this airport road,” he said.
A taxi driver, Adeniyi Usman, lamented that the queues resurfaced Friday, adding that it may have been caused by the scarcity of aviation fuel.
“This queue started on Friday. That was when I noticed it but it was worse yesterday evening. Now, I don’t even know the reason but the way things are now, I must say it is because of the scarcity of aviation fuel,” he said.
