Petrol queues reappeared in Lagos and its surrounding areas on Tuesday due to a shortage of supply, causing inconvenience for motorists and consumers who struggled to purchase the product.
Abubakar Maiganda, the National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, confirmed the situation, stating that members have faced challenges in procuring the product for several days.
The queues, initially observed on Monday, have now spread to numerous outlets across the state.
In response, Femi Soneye, spokesperson for NNPC Limited, reassured the public, stating, “We confirm that there are no supply issues, and our products remain readily available.” He attributed the recent tightness to a brief distribution problem in Lagos, which has since been resolved.
Similarly, Huub Stokman, Chairman of the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria, noted that the nation has ample commercial stocks of petrol for distribution. He explained that distribution was temporarily constrained by weekend elections in some parts of the country.
Stokman elaborated, “While there is sufficient supply both on-shore and off-shore awaiting discharge, movement restrictions during local elections over the weekend impacted loading operations in places like Apapa.” He anticipated the resolution of any resulting issues in the coming days as the supply chain readjusts.
Despite reports indicating that many major marketers’ outlets remained operational while independent stations were closed to consumers, there were no reports of price hikes. This stance by filling stations helped deter motorists from increasing transport fares in Lagos and its environs.