The federal government’s last minute intervention has not yielded results yet as Long queues surfaced in some filling stations in Lagos and Abuja on Monday as motorists stormed the stations to refill their tanks in what was described as panic buying.
The development followed the withdrawal of service by the petroleum tankers under the aegis of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO).
NARTO had embarked on the strike over the high cost of freight while directing members (tanker drivers) to stop lifting of fuel.
NARTO had said despite the deregulation of the downstream sector, oil marketers have refused its request to review the rates.
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Deregulation removes the government’s control over the prices of petroleum products and allows private entities to make decisions in the sector.
Yesterday, there were long queues at filling stations, according to checks by our correspondent as many motorists scrambled to top up their engine after observing the queue.
For instance, there was rowdiness at a BOVAS filling station along Ogunnusi road close to Road Safety Ojodu, ditto NNPC retail outlet near Omole. Also, there was a long queue at Mobil filling station, Agidingbi.
In Abuja, our reporter observed that many fuel stations shut down operations as few independent marketers who remained operational had longer queues.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) outlets at Area 10 and Zone 6 offered the product at the usual N617 per litre, attracting long queues of motorists desperate to secure fuel amid uncertainty.
Non compliance in Kaduna, Kano
There was no compliance by filling station in Kaduna and Kano as our correspondent reports that many filling stations including A. A. Rano, Shafa and Forte Oil filling stations were seen dispensing petrol to motorists.
Our correspondent however reports that there are unusually long queues at the filling stations visited due to panic buying.
Tanker drivers strike is beyond us – MOMAN
Members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) have said it is not within it’s purview to decide for the drivers what to do given the present operational cost which is no longer visible to maintain.
Speaking on the issue, the Executive Secretary of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Mr. Clement Isong, said the current rate on the part of marketers is not even sustainable.
Ministry, NARTO fail to reach deal
The meeting called by the Minister of petroleum (oil), Heineken Lokpobiri and the leadership of NARTO and Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) did not yield concrete outcomes as the union insisted that the current rate is not sustainable.
The minister in his brief address to journalists said he could not give any guarantees on the possible outcome of the meeting, adding that the parties are reasonable and understand the current plight of Nigerians, and would do all they can to not worsen the situation.
He said: ‘The issues have nothing to do with the government, they are basically commercial. We are intervening to ensure that Nigerians do not suffer unduly.
“We haven’t finished, when we do, we will announce our final resolution.”
Daily Trust learnt that the meeting is expected to continue today.
