Some petroleum marketers say fuel scarcity will persist in Lagos and other parts of the country until depots are restocked with adequate and quality products.
The marketers, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the condition of anonymity, blamed the current scarcity on the supply of a wrong specification of petrol in some parts of the country.
They noted that the directive to withdraw the product from the market even after distribution to many filling stations across Lagos and other areas created a supply shortfall, thereby, leading to panic buying.
“As we speak, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd is working to ensure that this disruption to the supply chain is addressed as soon as possible.
“However, there is the challenge of logistics and how to compensate those who were supplied with the adulterated products.
“The NNPC is working with marketers on this and once the depots are restocked, tankers will start loading and supply will improve across the country.
“Until we are able to achieve this, queues will remain at the petrol stations because of the panic already created,’’ one of the top marketers told NAN.
An independent petroleum marketer (name withheld) said there had been complaints from some motorists on the fuel quality which made his station to stop selling for now.
“Some independent marketers are not hoarding products as is being alleged. Some of us were affected by the supply we got and we are trying to resolve the situation so that we can continue our business,’’ he said.
A NAN correspondent check at Ikeja, Iyana-Ipaja and Abule-Egba areas of Lagos State revealed that only a few filling stations were selling fuel.
Others, especially those owned by independent marketers were not opened for business.
However, it was observed that the filling stations were selling at between N162.50 to N165 per litre, which indicated that the scarcity had not led to an increment in pump price.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has said that petrol, with methanol quantities above Nigeria’s specification, was discovered in the supply chain.
In a statement on Tuesday, it said the supplier had been identified and appropriate sanction would apply.
It also said oil marketers had been directed to ensure sufficient supply of petrol in all outlets in the country.
Queues had surfaced in filling stations in parts of the country on Monday, stretching into Tuesday.
