Petrol stations in Lagos, yesterday, witnessed queues a few hours after President Bola Tinubu announced that “fuel subsidy is gone”.
Daily Trust observed that only stations belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company were dispensing petrol while other privately-owned stations were not selling the product.
It was observed that only the NNPC stations were dispensing fuel at the Alausa-Ikeja axis. It was the same scenario along the popular Lagos Abeokuta Expressway.
Some of the motorists said they rushed to the stations to fill up the tanks of their vehicles when the president announced that fuel subsidy had been removed.
They expressed displeasure that the announcement had caused panic buying as private filling stations had decided to hoard the product.
“The private stations stopped selling immediately after the announcement was made. That was why we rushed here before the NNPC stations would be out of stock,” said Mr Babajide Kadiri.
In his inauguration speech, Tinubu said the subsidy was benefiting the rich at the expense of the poor.
“We commend the decision of the outgoing administration in phasing out the petrol subsidy regime which has increasingly favoured the rich more than the poor. Subsidy can no longer justify its ever-increasing costs in the wake of drying resources. We shall instead re-channel the funds into better investment in public infrastructure, education, health care and jobs that will materially improve the lives of millions,” he said.
He said he would also review complaints on multiple taxation in order to boost the economy and attract investors.
