This occurred on Sunday, as the scarcity of petrol worsened in Abuja and the surrounding states, with some filling stations charging as much as N900 per litre for PMS.
Due to their refusal to purchase fuel from the private depots at exorbitant prices, several filling stations in Lagos, Ogun, and other states have run out of supplies, according to our reporters.
The National Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Hammed Fashola, stated that several filling stations did not open for business on Sunday because they were out of fuel. He made this claim in an interview with one of our correspondents.
He stated that Nigerians should be informed about the situation with the product by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, which is now the only importer of gasoline.
“Those who closed their stations had nothing to sell but fuel. You are unable to open your station when you are out of fuel. That’s the issue. As you are aware, NNPC is the product’s only importer. It is, in my opinion, in the best position to inform us of the true situation.
Independent marketers are currently unable to purchase the goods sold by private depots. A litre of fuel costs between N715 and N720 from them. How much will the product be sold for by marketers? Consider how much it will cost them to carry it to their depots; the cost of transportation plus other depot expenditures will make it unaffordable. The stations are closed as a result. Because they are aware that most people cannot afford the expensive gasoline in current economy, some marketers choose not to go shopping. For the time being, that is the scenario, the IPMAN chief said.
Our correspondents have learned that the NNPC sells gasoline to large marketers for less than or about N600, while the third parties—private depot owners—used to sell PMS to independent marketers at a rate of N630–650/litre.
The NNPC has yet to heed the pleas of IPMAN leaders, who have repeatedly asked the company to provide gasoline directly to them like they do for large merchants.
In order to maintain the supply of fuel in circulation, Fashola urged Nigerians to purchase only what they actually need.
According to information received, independent marketers supplied gasoline for between N750 and N800 per litre, while major marketers offered it for less than N650.
Officials from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited confirmed to one of our correspondents that they had raided the different depots in Apapa on Friday. They ordered the depot owners to give fuel supply priority to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, which is where the fuel lines were first observed on Friday.
