Fuel queues resurface in Lagos as marketers blame NNPC for supply gap

There is anxiety and confusion in Nigeria’s commercial capital as queues resurfaced in filling stations across the metropolis on Tuesday morning.

The long queues were also noticed along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Ikorodu road, and Lagos Island.

Findings by BusinessDay showed motorists queued for hours at filling stations in different parts of the city, seeking to purchase fuel, with some spending as much as six hours or more.

Mike Osatuyi, National Operations Controller, IPMAN, said his association is following the development but there is nothing concrete yet.

He said: “We noticed it too and believe the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd must have also observed.

“We expect them to work on it in terms of increasing supply,” Osatuyi said. “let us watch and see what will happen in the next three-four days.”

In addition, the Controller said his members are already buying at a higher price but will observe till Wednesday before taking any action.

On Monday, the spokesperson of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association (IPMAN), Chinedu Ukadike, blamed the lingering scarcity on the delay in the arrival of product vessels.

Read also: Why fuel scarcity might not hit Lagos -marketers

He said this has led to a drop in the stock sufficiency level of the NNPC Limited but added that the vessels were just arriving.

“For us, the independent marketers, we are service oriented, and we normally buy our products from NNPC, private depots, and private tank farm owners and some of them are located in Lagos, Warri and Port Harcourt knowing fully well that we import petroleum products in this country, and most of these products are vessel driven depots, and they collect products from ships.

“Recently, NNPC and the PPMC, I think there is a shortfall in the sufficiency they have in stock because some of the mother vessels they are expecting are just arriving there was a little delay and some of the logistics in handling charges in the depots, so these are the issues that have truncated the chain of supply.

“Because some of these mother vessels that were supposed to arrive Nigeria and be able to distribute and send to these private depots, there was a little delay in payments and receipts and NIMASA,” he said.

He noted that although the flood had subsided as some depots were out of stock.