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Fuel queues have persisted across the country, and Nigerians are keeping vigil at filling stations to fuel their vehicles.
YOUNEWS learnt it’s high petrol price by the private depots that has led to increased pump prices at filling stations operated by independent oil marketers.
Some outlets dispense the commodity for as high as N1,000 per litre, particularly stations in the North.
YOUNEWS’ checks reveal some filling stations operated by independent marketers in Lagos and many other states dispense their products for as high as N900 and N1,000/litre
Though the Federal Government, through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, vowed to shut down filling stations caught dispensing petrol at exorbitant rates.
Federal Government via NMDPRA official said such outlets would be brought to book if apprehended.
“If we get these outlets, all we do is to try and shut them down, because NNPC is the company that brings in the product and they tell us how much they sell as their ex-depot prices to off-takers.
And we sit down together and work out the margins and there is no way it should be that high,” The spokesperson of the NMDPRA, George Ene-Ita revealed.
The queues for petrol by motorists at filling stations were still visible on Friday in parts of Lagos, Abuja, Niger, and Nasarawa, among others.
Marketers said while the petrol price at NNPC depots was less than N600/litre, the cost at private depots had increased to about N850/litre.
They are insisting that the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit, aka petrol, at Nigerian private depots has increased to N850/litre.
Oil marketers said the ex-depot price was about N780/litre last week, but the cost increased to between N840/litre and N850/litre on Friday due to low petrol imports by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
Nigeria is witnessing the fifth major fuel crisis since President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023, following his removal of the fuel subsidy.
The removal led to a sharp rise in fuel prices, causing panic buying, widespread fuel scarcity, and a subsequent hike in the cost of living. Petrol pump prices jumped from around N200 to over N500/litre.
A second fuel scarcity unfolded around September 2023 as a result of another surge in petroleum pump prices, leading to queues in major cities, including Lagos.
In January 2024, Nigeria experienced another scarcity due to distribution challenges and rising global oil prices.
Just before Tinubu’s one-year anniversary, the country witnessed the fourth fuel crisis, which brought about high transportation costs and disruptions in daily activities across the country.
The ongoing August fuel scarcity is the fifth in the petroleum crisis.
