Despite pledges from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Limited), the current petrol crisis in the country showed no signs of easing yesterday, as more filling stations shuttered their doors to motorists.
Checks in the Abuja Central Area revealed that, while NNPC Retail stations continued to operate, most stations owned by large and independent merchants remained closed.
Furthermore, while pump prices have been somewhat consistent, with NNPC selling at N617 per litre, Cononley at N660 per litre, and NIPCO at N695 per litre, a few independent merchants sold between N800 and N940 per litre. Black marketers have also increased their pricing to between N1,100 and N1,200 per litre.
Three days earlier, the NNPC blamed the continued petrol scarcity in Lagos and the FCT on “a snag in the discharge operations of a handful of boats.”
The company declared that “it is working around the clock with all parties to address the situation and restore normal operations.”
Chief Chinedu Ukadike, Public Relations Officer of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), told Vanguard that most tank farms around the coast were empty.
Ukadike noted that the supply from NNPC Limited has been unstable, forcing independent marketers to source their items from third parties.
"Independent marketers do not import petroleum, thus we must rely on others. According to our sources, the issue is with the vessel-to-vessel transmission. We are willing and ready to provide gasoline across our filling stations throughout the country.
“But based on the talks we’ve had, the situation should improve this week,” he said.
He said that filling stations owned by independent marketers were selling for more than N750 per litre since they did not receive direct supply from the NNPC.
“We have higher prices since we source from the third tier. As a result of our higher price, there will be no lineups at our filling stations. However, because the NNPC and large merchants sell at lower prices, there would be lineups,” he noted.