Oil marketers in the country have stated that the lingering fuel scarcity would persist till at least after the elections.
BizWatch Nigeria understands that the petrol scarcity became severe on Monday, March 6, 2023, in Abuja, Nasarawa, Niger and other states in the North, as thousands of motorists besieged the few filling stations that dispensed the commodity in these areas.
Due to the development, the cost of petrol rose to as high as N400 per litre at filling stations operated by independent marketers, while black marketers sold the product for between N450 per litre to N500 per litre.
Many motorists resorted to accessing the product from black marketers, but most of these dealers lacked the ability to carry out mobile transactions, a development that worsened the sorry state of frustrated fuel seekers.
In his reaction, the National Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Abubakar Maigandi said the scarcity of petrol in the Northern part of the country and some other states, would drag on till next week.
His words: “Most people thought that there would be a crisis, so they stopped their trucks from going to lift products, but since there is no crisis so far, by next week, fuel should be available.
“It will clear after the governorship elections in states on Saturday, for when we have elections every time in Nigeria people will develop fear. So that is the challenge.
“When we tell our truck drivers to go to Lagos to lift products, they refuse because they are scared of their lives. So we hope that by next week it will clear, for after the elections, things should return to normal because there is enough product.
“This is why in areas such as Lagos and neighbouring states, they do not have this challenge we are seeing up North. There are no queues in Lagos and we are hopeful that the queues here should clear by next week.”
