The lines for fuel in Abuja and the nearby states of Nasarawa and Niger have gotten worse every day.
However, the Federal Government announced on Wednesday that it has boosted the number of PMS trucks supplying goods to the Federal Capital Territory to 180 per day in an effort to reduce the lines.
Many filling stations in Abuja and the surrounding area don’t dispense gasoline. Massive lines form outside the few stores that sell the product. Currently, black marketers charge between N300 and N400 per litre for PMS.
In response, the Federal Government announced on Wednesday that it had ordered the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to increase fuel supply to Abuja and the surrounding areas. This was done through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
The NNPC is currently dumping PMS into barges in Calabar for trucks to enter Abuja via Ogoja and Benue route, while the flood in Lokoja was the cause of the backlog, according to Ogbugo Ukoha, Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure, NMDPRA.
According to him, “The flood in Lokoja has put a lot of pressure on Abuja. Ordinarily, Abuja requires 70 trucks to ensure the city is wet. But in the last few weeks, this has been very difficult. We have now decided to increase the number to 180 and 200 trucks daily to supply Abuja and its environs.
“The NNPC is also discharging PMS into barges in Calabar so that trucks can take the Benue route. We are optimistic that the new measures will ease the queues very soon.
“Let me appeal to marketers to desist from taking advantage of the shortfall in supply.”
However, some businesspeople were exploiting the shortage to raise the price of gasoline at the pump. On Wednesday, for instance, a hidden gas station close to the Kubwa Village Market in Abuja sold the product for N285/litre.
This occurred despite threats from the Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria to penalize merchants who charge high prices for the commodity.
