Nigerians lament as fuel scarcity worsens

The latest round of fuel scarcity being witnessed in many states across the country worsened on Sunday as motorists and other users of petrol had difficulties getting the product at filling stations, The Punch reports.
Many filling stations were shut in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna and other major cities across the country on Sunday. The few stations that were dispensing the product recorded long queues of motorists who wanted to buy petrol into their vehicles, motorcycles and jerry cans. It was also gathered that private depots in Apapa, Lagos were selling the product above the ex-depot price of N76.50 per litre.
Marketers and industry stakeholders said the supply of petrol by the NNPC had dropped. The Chairman, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, Lagos Zone, Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo, said in particular “There has been a very sharp drop in the supply chain, and I think it is as a result of lack of enough stock on the part of the NNPC”. The Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Obafemi Olawore, on his own part said the inability of the marketers to access adequate foreign exchange from banks was also hampering fuel importation.