Headlinemews.news correspondent reporting from Abuja. Long queues have reappeared at filling stations across Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, with motorists struggling to purchase petrol. The queues began on Monday morning and persisted through Thursday, causing traffic jams in major parts of the city as many service lanes were closed.
Numerous filling stations in areas such as Wuye, the Central Business District, Wuse, Kubwa, and Lugbe were selling petrol at prices ranging between N680 and N700 per litre. However, the retail outlets of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) continued to sell the product for N617 per litre.
Black marketers were also observed selling petrol in jerry cans, with interested motorists and residents scrambling to purchase at inflated prices ranging between N1000 and N1200 per litre. Some petrol stations were shut down while others were crowded with motorcyclists, tricycle owners, and private and commercial drivers.
A long queue was witnessed at the NNPC retail outlet along the Central Business District Area on Wuse Road, with a similar situation observed at stations owned by Shafa, NIPCO, A.A. Rano, TotalEnergies, Shema, Conoil, and others.
Addressing the scarcity, Olufemi Soneye, the chief corporate communications officer of the NNPC Ltd, stated that the supply challenge experienced in some areas of the country was due to logistics issues, which have since been resolved. He reassured Nigerians that there was no need for panic buying as the NNPC had sufficient stock of petroleum products.
Soneye emphasized that the issue was unrelated to the NNPC’s inventory, as there was an abundance of products available. He assured that trucks were loading from Lagos and on their way to Abuja, and normalcy was expected to return by the end of the day. Additionally, he reiterated that petroleum product prices remained unchanged and urged Nigerians to avoid panic buying, emphasizing the adequacy of products in the country.
