Fuel Scarcity Worsens In Lagos, Other States As Trucks Are Diverted To Abuja

Despite assurances from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) that fuel scarcity issues had been resolved, Nigerians in Lagos and other parts of the country continued to face challenges accessing Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) as many filling stations remained closed over the weekend.

According to sources, the situation may exacerbate in Lagos and other South-Western states like Ogun, Oyo, and Osun due to a directive from the NNPCL prioritizing fuel distribution to the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja) before other regions. Consequently, the majority of fuel trucks departing from Lagos depots were directed towards Abuja.

Officials, speaking anonymously, revealed that the NNPCL had implemented rationing measures, reducing fuel allocations to depots by half, allocating only 5,000 metric tonnes instead of the usual 10,000MT. This decision was attributed to the ongoing scarcity and erratic supply patterns.

“Because of the scarcity, there are directives that the product should be rationed. Depots now get about 220 trucks, which is half what they usually get. This is happening because of the erratic supply. If the NNPCL had enough supply, it would give everybody what they needed, and there would be no queues,” one of the officials stated.

An operator explained that the supply disruptions stemmed from the NNPCL’s inability to import sufficient fuel presently. Consequently, trucks are instructed to prioritize servicing Abuja until regular supply resumes, potentially leading to prolonged queues in the South-West.

“The South West will likely experience more queues in the next two to three days because the Abuja loading will continue until Monday. The government is prioritising Abuja; they want the seat of power to have enough fuel supply,” the operator noted.

Hammed Fashola, the National Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, expressed optimism that queues in Lagos and Ogun would reduce by Wednesday, relying on information provided by the NNPCL. However, he acknowledged that queues in Abuja might persist due to logistical challenges and distance from Lagos.

“The information available to us from the NNPCL was that there was a logistics problem, and when that happens, it will disrupt the supply chain. That might be a delay in the movement of ships from the mother vessel to the daughter vessel before it gets to the depot tanks. Before we can correct that, surely it will take some days. I think by Tuesday or Wednesday, there will be more products available for lifting by marketers. It might take time before it can ease off in Abuja, considering the distance to Lagos and the bad roads; Lagos might be calm this new week,” Fashola assured.