Fuel scarcity to linger till after elections – Marketers

The scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, in Abuja and other northern states could persist till after Saturday’s gubernatorial elections in various states, oil marketers said on Tuesday.

Petrol scarcity became severe on Monday in Abuja, Nasarawa, Niger and other states in the North, as thousands of motorists besieged the few filling stations that dispensed the commodity in these areas.

The cost of petrol rose to as high as N400/litre at filling stations operated by independent marketers, while black marketers sold the product for between N450/litre to N500/litre.

Many motorists resorted to accessing the product from black marketers, but most of these dealers lacked the ability to carryout mobile transactions, a development that worsened the sorry state of frustrated fuel seekers.

Members of the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria confirmed that about 90 per cent of their filling stations were shut due to lack of products.

Similarly, the outlets of most major marketers were closed, while the few ones that dispensed petrol were greeted with massive queues of motorists.

The Conoil and Total filling stations right opposite the Abuja headquarters of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, for instance, had severe queues on Monday, as they were among the very few outlets that dispensed petrol in the capital city.

The National Vice President, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abubakar Maigandi, told our correspondent that the scarcity of petrol in the Northern part of the country and some other states, would drag till next week.