Amid dwindling stock in depots, petroleum marketers are urging the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to extend the emergency fuel supply for an additional two weeks.
The persistent scarcity of petroleum products, which has been ongoing for approximately two weeks, necessitates this action.
Over the weekend, NMDPRA revealed that approximately 4,000 trucks loaded with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) departed from Lagos depots to distribute the product to various states’ filling stations.
Last week Monday, the Federal Government, through NMDPRA, initiated a 15-day emergency fuel supply operation to facilitate the widespread circulation of the commodity nationwide.
Additionally, the government confirmed that vessels carrying PMS will continue to dock at the shore to offload fuel into different depots for subsequent distribution to various filling stations.
During an interview with our correspondent on Sunday, Ayo Cardoso, the South-West Regional Coordinator of NMDPRA, disclosed that over 300 million liters of petrol were dispatched from different depots in Lagos between Friday and Sunday to alleviate the queues at filling stations.
Despite these efforts, there has been no significant reduction in queues, as many stations in Lagos, Ogun, Abuja, Oyo, and other locations remain closed due to insufficient fuel supply.
In areas where petrol is available, some marketers have inflated prices up to N1,000 per liter, resulting in long lines at stations selling at approximately N600 per liter.