When motorists in Abuja paid between N300 and N350 per litre for gasoline on Monday, the ongoing fuel crisis in several regions of the country worsened.
When our correspondent met with Abuja residents, they lamented the rising expense of PMS and the difficulties they had procuring the prescription.
Driver by the name of Michael Adebanjo asserted that as of Monday, petrol was being sold on the illicit market for between N300 and N350 per liter.
He stated:
“I bought for N250 on Saturday. I had to join a very long queue before I could even get it that day. Today, it was even more difficult. The queues are something else. So I decided to buy black market today. I bought it for N300 per litre.”
In Abuja, the Khalif filling station in Kubwa sold the product on Sunday for N250 per litre, although the price was shown as N165 per litre on the pumps. However, the gasoline attendant will calculate the amount to be purchased based on black market rates once the driver specifies how much they desire to purchase.
Since February of this year, the lines for gasoline in Abuja haven’t stopped, but on Sunday, they got worse in the neighboring states of Nasarawa and Niger as drivers looked for PMS to use to get around during the Sallah break.
Oil marketers refuted accusations of product hoarding or diversion, pointing out that the NNPC’s inadequate supply of PMS and the failure to pay bridging claims for the transportation of gasoline were the main causes of the shortage.
According to Billy Gillis-Harry, president of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Products Retail Outlets, filling stations that had fuel to sell were operating while those that were closed were unable to do so.
However, additional investigation reveals that the lines for Premium Motor Spirit, sometimes known as gasoline,
On Monday, there were fewer lines at more filling stations in Abuja, including those along the Kubwa-Zuba Road, Airport Road, and Central Business District.
Petrol was sold to drivers at retail locations like AY Shafa in Deidei, NNPC mega station along Kubwa-Zuba road, Major Oil on Airport Road, and many others.
Marketers speculate that the less automobiles on the roads as a result of many inhabitants of the capital city traveling to observe the Sallah holiday outside of Abuja may be to blame for the shorter lines.
However, Chief John Kekeocha, the National Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, said that more trucks were leaving towards Abuja with loads of goods.
Our correspondent was informed by him that “we are hopeful that very soon the scarcity will be over.
However, Kekeocha continued, “No official announcement of any revision in the price of gasoline, whether it be an increase or decrease, has been made. So, the government-approved figure of N165 per litre remains the official price of gasoline.