Lagos and the surrounding environs could soon experience a major fuel shortage as marketers continue to close stations to deny access to motorists and other product users.
Station closures reportedly began gradually after Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) reduced import volumes to allow large independent distributors to participate in imports following the deregulation of the market.
According to reports, the situation was exacerbated by the inability of marketers to import, mainly due to difficulties in obtaining foreign currency and instability in the domestic market.
One of the marketers said:
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“The reduction in NNPC Limited’s import, aimed at enabling the marketers to embark on importation and the marketers’ inability to import has created a vacuum that needs to be addressed.
“The situation could have been very serious if many people were still buying the product.
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“But the shortage is currently mild because many automobile owners are not driving frequently or have completely abandoned driving because of the high cost of petrol currently going for between N568 per litre and N590.”
When reached out for comments,
Chinedu Okolonkwo, the National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Chinedu Okoronkwo said otherwise when reached out for comments.
He said:
“We are still loading.”
However, it was questionable whether all of the product recovered from the warehouses was delivered to the filling stations, as officials
Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority did not turn up to enforce compliance.
