Fuel Scarcity: Abuja Shut Down As NNPC Fails to Meet Supplies of 1billion Litres

• Nigerians are feeling the heat proper as the scarcity of fuel in states across the country lingers, becoming a daily routine for long queues to be present in filling stations
• In Abuja to be precise, there is a shutdown as the NNPC has failed to deliver over 1.7 billion litres of PMS and also adjust the current price
• Meanwhile, there is an increment in the cost price of petrol as the recent price varies by the state and the station offering the products for sale, it is now being sold from N200 upwards

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited disclosed earlier that it would deliver over 1.7 billion litres of PMS on marine and on land.

It also said that it had no plans to adjust the current price of PMS in the market but despite this promise, Abuja residents are now sleeping at filling stations.

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At an AYM Shafa filling station in Abuja, a car owner, Mr Stephen Okechukwu told Legit.ng that he joined the queue as early as 3am and that despite coming out so early, he was welcomed with a long queue.

Mr Stephen said:

"I was here exactly 3 am this morning. I came hoping that I was going to at least be among the first set of people, but you can see for yourself where I am on the queue. Obviously, some people slept in the queue. "

As at the time of filing this report, Legit.ng reached out to Mr Garba Deen again to inquire about the over 1 billion litres NNPC promised to distribute across the country and the 2.3 billion litres it said would be imported, his line was not reachable and a message sent to him on WhatsApp did not deliver.

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Legit.ng’s prediction confirmed

Recall Legit.ng had reported that Nigerians would continue to face hardship emanating from scarcity of the product.

The report said the scarcity would continue despite NNPC's assurance that it was ending the supply shortage soon.

Two weeks after the report, the situation has become worse and Nigerians are groaning over the hardship experienced just to refill their vehicles' tanks.

NNPC gives fresh assurance

Again, the NNPC said on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, that it has started loading fuel at all depots in order to clear the current nationwide scarcity, The Nation added.

The company further boasted that at least 1.7 billion litres of petrol are currently available to be supplied across the country.

The NNPC Group Managing Director, Malam Mele Kyari, while addressing journalists in Abuja, following its meeting with the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petrol Tanker Drivers (PTD), noted that the new supply was capable of ending the continuous queues in Abuja and other parts of the country.

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The current reality

But it’s yet to be seen if the current petrol scarcity will end in a couple of days as the situation had remained the same even on Thursday morning, March 3, 2022.

Legit.ng notes that most filling stations in Abuja and other states of the federation now sell the product above N200 per litre.

This has further jerked up the cost of transportation in Abuja and other major cities across the country.

Meanwhile, black marketers have continued to smile to the bank following the huge profit they are making as they sell petrol between 500-1000 naira per litre depending on one’s bargaining power.

FG plans clampdown on black marketers

In other news, the federal government may clamp down on black marketers of petroleum products soon, even as it tackles the scarcity of the product headlong.

A source in the midstream and downstream regulatory authority told Legit.ng that the activities of the black marketers were worrisome and if serious actions and measures were not taken, the current scarcity won’t disappear as expected.

He said that as the federal government pushes more litres of fuel into filling stations across the country, black marketers were out to sabotage the effort.

Source: Legit.ng