Many fuel stations in the Federal Capital Territory are currently closed, causing significant inconvenience to motorists who are facing long queues at the few stations still dispensing petrol.
The situation was due to the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) fulfilling their threat to suspend operations starting on Monday.
Reports held that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) filling station on Arab Road in Kubwa, Abuja, was closed on Monday morning.
Also, the Conoil filling station along the Zuba-Kubwa expressway experienced lengthy queues as motorists scrambled to secure fuel.
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In the central business district of Abuja, the NNPCL retail outlet also witnessed extensive queues on Monday morning.
Many other stations operated by independent marketers had shut down due to the halt in petroleum product transportation by NARTO members.
Reports emerged on Monday that the Federal Government intervened by ordering oil marketers to engage in negotiations with NARTO to prevent the planned suspension of operations, which was set to disrupt the nationwide lifting of petroleum products.
The engagement between oil marketers and NARTO executives intensified over the weekend, with approximately six meetings held between Saturday and Sunday.
The Federal Government, represented by downstream regulators and the petroleum ministry, scheduled a meeting with NARTO members and other stakeholders on Monday in Abuja to address the underlying issues.
Recall that concerns about a potential fuel scarcity escalated on Friday, as NARTO announced its intention to cease lifting petroleum products due to the soaring cost of operations.
Members of NARTO have repeatedly highlighted the exorbitant prices of diesel required to power their trucks for nationwide transportation of petroleum products.
Yusuf Othman, President of NARTO had said:
“Why? It is because what we spend on operations is more than what we get in total, both in local and bridging.”
