Abuja residents, motorists lament as NNPC speaks on fuel scarcity

Motorists and commuters are currently groaning under the harsh conditions caused by the fuel scarcity situation across Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.

The scarcity, which began last Thursday, continued on Monday.

The crisis has already impacted the transport sector in the city, with commercial transporters already adjusting their fares upward.

A PREMIUM TIMES correspondent who monitored the situation found that transport fares jumped by at least 20 per cent, depending on the routes.

A random survey of petrol stations within the city showed that the prices ranged between N670 and N800 Monday morning while the retail outlets of the NNPC continued to sell the product for N617 per litre.

When this reporter visited petrol stations on Monday morning, anxious motorists scrambled for fuel.

Most motorists who could not bear to stay in queues at the filling stations found an alternative in the emergency roadside fuel hawkers. But this came at a higher cost of about N10,000 – N12,000 for a 10-litre jerry can.

Fuel queue resurface in Abuja
[PHOTO CREDIT: Mary Izuaka]

The queue around the NNPC retail station in the Central Area District resulted in a traffic gridlock in the area.

A commercial motorist, Mustaphar Mailafiya, said it was better to wait at the NNPC station than to be exploited by people who sell at exorbitant prices.

All the filling stations visited in Kubwa were not selling the product. The TotalEnergies filling station in Wuse Zone 1, TotalEnergies filling station in Wuse Zone 2 junction by customs and Azman Oil and Gas Nig Ltd in Wuse Zone 5 were opened, but officials said the stations had no petrol stock.

At Saddi Kamil filling station, NNPC, Shafa and Salbas Oil and Gas Nig Ltd along Lugbe, Airport Road, there was a huge crowd at the stations Monday morning.

Shema Petroleum Limited, along Lugbe Airport Road, was opened, but the station was not selling the product, while Bovas, along Lugbe Airport Road, was under lock and key.

When PREMIUM TIMES visited the Conoil filling station opposite the NNPC Tower, the queues stretched for about one kilometre to the end of the National Bureau of Statistics office.

One of the motorists, who gave his name as Kenny, said his tank was already empty and could not afford to buy from hawkers.

“This thing is not funny again. We are fed up because we have to queue for a long time to get petrol,’’ he said.

A car owner, Adeyemi Folorunso, said he had been in the queue for almost an hour waiting to purchase the product.

“The current situation is bad for an ordinary person. How can you wake up very early just to come and queue up for fuel? You can see how bad it is when you spend all your time in the station.

“Let me use this opportunity to call on President Bola Tinubu to bring the renewed hope he promised to us, we are suffering, and all we need is permanent hope,” he said.

The fuel scarcity has forced residents to adopt new ways to manage the situation.

A civil servant, Mathias Ewaoche, lamented that he hardly drives his car to far distances due to the difficulty of getting fuel.

“Since Friday, I have been managing the fuel in my car. I must tell you that throughout the weekend, being Saturday and Sunday, I did not even drive the car,” he said.

In Lugbe, a civil servant, Adelani John, said the scarcity had affected fares and further worsened the already bad economic situation for individuals.

“I have been standing here for a while now, and all the private cars I saw said from this Berger junction in Lugbe to secretariat is N500, something that I used to enter for N400 before.

“It is also difficult to get commercial vehicles as most of them are stuck in one fuel station,” he added.

An okada rider, who simply identified himself as Guntau, said he bought three litres of fuel from a black market dealer at N3,000.

Mr Guntau said he had to increase the fare to N200 per drop so he could make a profit.

“If you are going to anywhere that is a bit closer, like this place where you are standing (Berger junction) to Lugbe Zone 6 you will pay N200 instead of N150, and if you are going to Zone 9, you will pay N300,” he told this reporter.

Fuel queue resurface in Abuja [PHOTO CREDIT: Mary Izuaka]

NNPC speaks

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), which imports nearly all the volumes of petrol that come into Nigeria, said logistics challenges and flooding caused the fuel queues seen in the FCT and some parts of the country.

Olufemi Soneye, the chief corporate communications officer of the NNPC Ltd, in a statement on Monday, explained that the adverse weather condition affected berthing at jetties, truck load-outs and transportation of products to filling stations, causing a disruption in station supply logistics.

“The NNPC Ltd wishes to state that the fuel queues seen in the FCT and some parts of the country were a result of disruption of ship-to-ship (STS) transfer of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, between Mother Vessels and Daughter Vessels resulting from a recent thunderstorm.

“The adverse weather condition has also affected berthing at jetties, truck load-outs and transportation of products to filling stations, causing a disruption in station supply logistics,” Mr Soneye said.

He further explained that due to the flammability of petroleum products and in compliance with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) regulations, it was impossible to load petrol during rainstorms and lightning.

“Adherence to these regulations is mandatory as any deviation could pose a severe danger to the trucks, filling stations and human lives.”

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Similarly, he said the development was compounded by consequential flooding of truck routes, which has constrained the movement of PMS from the coastal corridors to the Federal Capital, Abuja.

According to him, the NNPC Ltd is working with relevant stakeholders to resolve the logistics challenges and restore a seamless supply of petrol to affected areas.

“Already, loading has commenced in areas where these challenges have subsided, and we are hoping the situation will continue to improve in the coming days and full normalcy will be restored,” he added.

The NNPC also called on motorists to avoid panic buying and hoarding petroleum products.