Residents of Abuja and neighboring states of Niger and Nasarawa are still facing tough times sourcing for Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, with the commodity selling for as high as N400/liter by black marketers.
The development came almost one week after the import of millions of dirty PMS from Europe into Nigeria disrupted the fuel supply system of the country, leading to long queues nationwide. The
Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has ordered the recall of the contaminated fuel but oil marketers have been battling various challenges, ranging from PMS supply shortage to complaints by consumers who claimed the bad product has damaged their vehicles.
However, finding show on Sunday that black marketers who sell petrol in jerry-cans are now the easily accessible suppliers of PMS in Abuja and neighbouring states. A significant percentage of filling stations in Nigeria’s capital city do not currently have petrol to dispense.
Oil marketers told our correspondent that a few other outlets that had products were still trying to return the adulterated petrol supplied to them since last week. This, they said, had prevented the affected stations from taking in uncontaminated products, as they currently lacked space to store new consignments.
Petroleum marketers, yesterday, said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited is yet to evacuate adulterated petroleum from fuel stations as motorists jostle to purchase premium motor spirit. It is feared the situation may take a bad turn if it lingers.
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), whose members retail over 90 per cent of the products used in the country, told The Guardian that petrol marketers are running at a loss, while consultants are working to determine the volume of the dirty fuels still in tanks.
For filling stations dispensing products, there are deliberate attempts to frustrate consumers by creating artificial scarcity through long queues and, in many cases, products are only sold in the evening, creating brisk business for the black market. Already, in many parts of Lagos, the product is being dispensed at N200 a litre and N400 in Abuja.
