Lagos and other regions of Nigeria are facing a fuel shortage due to private depot owners raising the ex-depot price of gasoline from N630 to N720 per liter.
Some gas stations in Lagos, Ogun, and other states have already run out of fuel because they refuse to purchase petrol from private depots at exorbitant prices.
The National Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Hammed Fashola, stated in a Sunday interview with Punch that several filling stations could not start for business due to a fuel shortage in their tanks.
He stated that Nigerians should be informed about the situation with the product by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, now the only gasoline importer.
“Those that shut their stations do not have fuel to sell. When you don’t have fuel, you cannot open your station. That is the problem. You know the NNPC is the sole importer of this product. I think it is in the best position to tell us what is actually going on.
“Currently, independent marketers cannot buy what the private depots are selling. They are selling fuel between N715 and N720 per litre.
How much will marketers sell the product? Look at the cost of bringing it to their depots; with transportation and other depot expenses, it will be too costly for them.
That is why the stations are shut down. Some marketers refuse to go and buy because they know the masses cannot afford high-priced petrol in this economy. That is the situation for now,” the IPMAN leader stated.
The third parties, private depot owners, used to sell PMS to independent marketers at the rate of N630-650/liter before now, while the NNPC sells petrol to major marketers at a price below or around N600.
