• Supply situation to improve next week – Marketers
• Motorists pay N800 and above for litre of PMS
Independent marketers expect the current fuel supply crisis in parts of the country to abate not later than next week.
Their optimism is hinged on the ongoing efforts to free seven fuel-laden vessels trapped in Warri.
The vessels are carrying a total of 150 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) an official of the Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) told The Nation yesterday.
The fuel shortage remained critical in many states of the federation last night although reports from other parts said the situation was easing off.
The DAPPMAN source said: “Seven vessels are trapped in Warri. It happened that four were on their way to Nigeria when they ran into other two that had broken down and the one that was trying to rescue them, making seven vessels.
“They are all in Warri and once their total stock of 150 million litres hits the market, the queues will disappear.”
The claim could not be confirmed from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), whose chief spokesman, Olufemi Soneye, asked that an SMS be sent to him when he was contacted on the phone.
This was done promptly, but his response had not come at press time.
The fuel crisis appeared to have eased marginally in the Federal Capital Territory yesterday.
The situation in parts of Lagos and Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, was also relatively better yesterday.
Filling stations of NNPC, NIPCO and ENYO in Ibadan operated in full and sold at the old rates of between N580 and N630 per litre.
Consequently, queues reduced drastically towards the evening.
Motorists who fuelled their vehicles on Friday told The Nation that they were able to buy fuel within 90 minutes of queuing.
A motorist, Mr Wale Olola, said: “I went out at about 10am in search of fuel. I had prepared my mind to spend about four to five hours wherever I got but was surprised to see NNPC, ENYO, NIPCO and others selling.
“Because of the availability in more stations, the queues were not as long as they were earlier in the week.
“I joined the queue and was able to buy fuel within an hour. It was so soothing.”
Yet some filling stations were closed yesterday for lack of product supply.
Commercial transporters were still charging exorbitant fares as at Friday with the claim that they bought fuel at high cost.
Fuel hits N950 per litre in Ondo
There was still no respite in Ondo State yesterday with a litre of fuel going for N950 per litre in Akure, the state capital.
Many of the petrol stations in Akure did not even have products to dispense.
Chairman of IPMAN, Ore depot, Shiba Amoo, said fuel would soon be available in Akure.
“We are working on how we can have priority for Akure. NNPCL has called for immediate loading of fuel,” he said.
It’s N880 per litre in Enugu
There were long queues at NNPC filling stations in Enugu where the product was sold for N600 per liter.
But the price differed at other filling stations, going for N880 per litre in some of them.
In places like Nsukka and Obollo Afor, it was between N880 and N1000 per liter.
However, only NNPC outlets and those of Total Energies sold N600 and N667 per liter respectively.
The price also ranged between N730 and N800 per litre in Anambra, Imo and Abia states, although there is no scarcity in Anambra.
In Imo State, the high price has caused significant disruption and hardship with transporters increasing fares by 100%.
Despite the availability of the product, motorists are struggling to cope with the increased cost, which has added to their financial burdens.
Many commuters have expressed their discontent, saying that the price hike has made it difficult for them to afford transportation to work, school, and other daily activities.
Many of the major and Independent Petroleum Marketers operating various petrol stations in Aba, the commercial nerve centre of Abia State, had no queues, but sold for ₦730-₦750.
On Friday, our correspondent reports that the pump price of PMS rose to ₦750-₦800 per liter.
No scarcity in Port Harcourt
Fuel is readily available in Rivers State although a litre can only be got for nothing less than N750.
A resident of the city said yesterday that he bought a litre for N712 on Thursday and N750 yesterday.
“Most filling stations have fuel but I noticed that they jerked up the price,” he said.
However, some of the stations did not sell to motorists, even when their gates were left wide open.
