Port Harcourt, Warri depots receive petrol as queues linger

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has supplied Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, to the Port Harcourt and Warri depots as it strives to tackle lingering fuel queues witnessed nationwide.

Oil marketers confirmed that the national oil firm deployed daughter vessels that moved PMS to the depots in Rivers and Delta States to decongest the trucks that besiege the Apapa depot in Lagos daily for petrol.

The PUNCH exclusively reported on Tuesday that many tankers were currently at various depots in Lagos waiting to load petrol for onward delivery to states across the country as the scarcity of PMS worsens.

The report stated that though some of the trucks had started loading PMS, the supply of the product by NNPC was still not enough.

To ease the traffic in Apapa and speed up the distribution process, the national oil firm had to send some daughter vessels of petrol to its depots in Warri and Port Harcourt.

This was confirmed to one of our correspondents on Tuesday by the National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chief Ukadike Chinedu. IPMAN controls about 80 per cent of the filling stations nationwide.

“NNPC is now receiving products based on information at our disposal. Some of these products have been sent to Port Harcourt and Warri depots. So any moment from now, or by the weekend they will release their batches and marketers will start loading in full.

“The issue of scarcity will be reduced and things will be normalised. However, they have to intensify supply, and the prices will crash when this is done. What is causing the high prices is that there is a limited supply, because demand is higher.

“So we use this opportunity to urge the NNPC to open its portal and allow marketers access to petrol for an easier loading system. They have to intensify the supply of products. But IPMAN is also using this privilege to advise Nigerians to avoid panic buying.”

As the petrol scarcity persisted in Lagos on Tuesday, task force officials in the state clamped down on black marketers in the Falomo area of Lagos.

Our correspondent who visited the area observed that the black marketers resorted to hiding their products in underground compartments, including dug-out holes amid fuel scarcity.

It was also observed that the situation led to confrontations, as some task force officials were observed forcibly seizing fuel from the vendors.

A commercial driver identified as Seye expressed frustration with the task force officials, arguing that the black-market operators should be left alone.

“These people are selling fuel because they don’t want to resort to crime. In this life, you have to adapt to the current economic situation,” he said.

A motor boy, Sola Idowu, added that fuel attendants at filling stations in Arepo area of Ogun State were complicit in the situation, stating that “they sell fuel in jerry cans and then close the stations early, only to sell to motorists at higher prices.”

Also, a passenger identified as Bola narrated her ordeal while trying to purchase fuel, adding that, “I was asked to pay N1,000 to skip the long queue. Nigeria has turned into a place where people exploit each other, and the government needs to act quickly before the situation gets out of hand.”

The ongoing fuel scarcity has caused widespread frustration, with many calling for stricter regulations and immediate government intervention to ease the crisis.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the Lagos Task Force, Raheem Gbadeyanka, said his team had intensified the crackdown on black marketers of PMS, focusing on hazardous areas such as Mile 2 and Ikoyi.

“During a recent operation at Mile 2, the task force impounded no fewer than 2,000 litres of fuel found being sold illegally on top of the Mile 2 bridge. The holiday is not a break for us but an opportunity to enhance safety measures and address the illegal fuel sales,” Raheem said.

He said the fuel seized during these operations would be forfeited to the state, underscoring the task force’s determination to curb the black market trade.

“Those arrested will face prosecution reinforcing the message that illegal activities will not be tolerated. The task force continues to address the fuel scarcity crisis with a firm stance against hazardous and unlawful practices,” he said.

Motorists lament

This came as motorists in Kano State called on the Federal Government to take decisive actions against fuel marketers who had continued to exploit members of the public by selling their products at exorbitant prices.

The fuel price has skyrocketed to between N980 and N1,000 per litre at filling stations in the state. This is also the case in many other states.

Motorists lamented that marketers in Kano, especially members of the IPMAN, had continued to raise their prices daily by creating artificial scarcity to maximise profit.

One of the motorists, Abdullahi Lawan, told our correspondent at the Audu Manager filling station along Maiduguri Road that most marketers had closed their filling stations despite having the commodity in stock.

“I was at AY Maikifi filling station along Maiduguri road dispensing fuel yesterday evening, but this morning, the filling station is closed even though they have the commodity,” he said.

Another motorist, Sanusi Bala stressed the need for the Federal Government to take urgent steps to address the current fuel crisis in the country.

He explained that the escalating cost of the commodity is responsible for the current high of foodstuffs and services, noting that fuel is the backbone of the economy.

When contacted, the state Chairman of IPMAN, Gana Girgir, said all marketers selling the commodity between N870 and N900 per litre must be selling old stock.

He noted that marketers in the state are currently buying the commodity from Lagos at N850 per litre and above adding “If you add N60 for transportation it will cost around N910 per litre.

“So, tell me how a marketer can sell the commodity at less than N950 per litre. If he does that he’ll operate at a loss,” he said.