In the last one month, Nigerians have been experiencing fuel scarcity because of the importation of the adulterated litres of PMS from Belgium into the country. Though in the last few days, the queues in some of the filling stations in Abuja appear to be easing off, some car owners are still at the mercy of black marketers. TOPE SUNDAY reports.
In the earlier week of February, Nigerians started to experience fuel scarcity owing to some of the adulterated litres of PMS, which were inadvertently imported from Belgium and released into the market. The adulterated PMS contained high methanol which ended up damaging many car engines. Upon discovering the problem, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) embarked upon an exercise to clean up the contaminated product from the market. It was this clean-up exercise that inevitably caused the scarcity.
How it started
Fuel scarcity has worsened across many Nigerian cities, and the citizens have often struggled to go to work or engage in other daily routines. This development has led to an increase in the cost of transportation and many people have been left stranded at bus stops.
Blueprint Weekend gathered car owners and commercial drivers are the worst hit even as workers are not left out.
As a result of the development, many filling stations were shut while others were besieged by motorcyclists, tricycle owners, as well as private and commercial drivers thereby causing heavy traffic on the roads.
This medium also gathered that black marketers engage in brisk businesses at the inception. Around February, black market price of fuel was hiked to between N4,000 and N7,000 for a 10 litre of petrol which ordinarily was sold for between N1,620 and 1,600 before the scarcity. Although as of the time of filing in this report, the hardship experienced by motorists in Abuja and some of cities across the country occasioned by the scarcity of petrol appeared to be easing off, there were still queues in most of the filling stations, particularly in Abuja.
Enter black market operators
The fuel situation is worsening on a daily basis because the queues at the most of the filling stations are thickening. As of Wednesday this week, there were still long vehicular queues at filling stations and motorists lamenting that they spend long hours before getting fuel.
An Abuja car owner, Ibrahim Ahmed, who spoke with this reporter, said he spent almost seven hours at one of the filling stations situated on Next Cash and Cash, Jahi district, before eventually getting some quantity of fuel.
“I was at a filling along Next Cash and Carry in Jahi district, Abuja, for almost seven hours. To my dismay, I saw that those cars on the queue were not attended to, but others who gained entrance into the filling station from the exit were those being attended to. This went on for hours, but upon complaints, we that were on the queue were later attended to. But I was not so lucky to have my car filled.
“Having spent seven hours at the filling station and I was shut out, I had to patronise black marketers who also got their product from the same filling station. I got a 25- litre of petrol for N10, 000, which ordinarily should have cost me a little over N4, 000,” he said.
Also, another resident of the FCT, Akeem Lawal, said because of the nature of his job, he could not queue at filling stations, but always patronises the black marketers.
“Since we have started experiencing fuel scarcity in Abuja, I have not queued in any of the filling stations. I would go to a filling station and beckon to those who are selling on black market where I buy the PMS at a very high price compared to the pump price at the station. Despite the situation, some fuel stations sell between N162 and N165 per litre, but the black marketers sell for as high as N300 and N400 per litre,” he said.
A resident of Dawaki, Mose Audu, said he now relies on black marketers to power his generators because of the hardship he once experienced at a filling station on the Kubwa expressway, adding that though black market is usually high, it is easier to get.
He said, “From my work place to the filling station costs me about N200 to and fro. But recently, I spent many hours at a filling station along Kubwa Expressway. For the whole day, I was at the filling station. Despite that, I did not get fuel. I later bought it at a black market. Though I spent more on it, it was easy for me and it saved my time. The stress we experienced at the filling stations is too much and not too good for anyone who has a deadline to deliver his work.”
Hoarding
On his part, a private car owner, John Samson, described the situation as “frustrating,” saying it had affected business activities in the FCT and called on the concerned authorities to address the issue. He said it was embarrassing in the nation’s capital for black petrol marketers to be doing brisk businesses in the city.
According to him, “It is worrisome that black oil marketers are doing brisk business very close to the filling stations. Where are they getting their products from? Is it not from the same filling stations where people have queued for several hours? Government and those concerned should address the situation. Also, hoarding of the fuel should be discouraged in the interest of all Nigerians.”
Another resident, Michael Samuel, accused some marketers of hoarding the product, hence encouraging black marketers to extort the populace, describing the situation as “hopeless.” He said the government is to blame for the development.
He called on the security agencies to arrest and prosecute owners of fuel stations found to be hoarding the product in order to serve as a deterrent to others.
He said, “Many of these fuel stations have the product. Are fuel tankers not entering their stations on a daily basis in Abuja? Some of the station managers are deliberately frustrating motorists. This development makes some of them to be at the mercy of the black marketers. There is fuel, but Nigerians are being frustrated for no reason.”
This reporter learnt that there are some filling stations that dispense fuel between N162 and N165 per litre, but sell for only a few hours, while reportedly selling for black marketers at N200 per litre who in return resell for between N300 and N500 per litre at the black market.
