Filling stations shut down as marketers expect 2 new refineries to begin selling petrol

Due to a shortage of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, there were long lines at the few locations that sold the product on Wednesday, April 24, forcing the closure of numerous filling stations in Abuja and roughly five other states.

The shortage of PMS that transporters needed to operate their vehicles left thousands of commuters stuck at several bus stations in the Federal Capital Territory, Nasarawa, Niger, Gombe, Sokoto, and Anambra states.

Punch reported that transportation fares in the impacted states increased because only a few carriers had access to the product.

To address the reason for the scarcity and find a solution, oil marketers said that they would meet with the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited's retail subsidiary today, Thursday.

On Wednesday, hundreds of drivers surrounded the Conoil and Total gas outlets in front of the NNPC corporate offices in Abuja.

This resulted in highway traffic leading to the Abuja Central Business District headquarters of NNPC and other nearby enterprises.

Similarly, it was observed that several filling stations in Zuba, Niger State, including NNPC and AYM Shafa closed on Wednesday. Similarly, there was nothing for sale at the NNPC store on Arab Road in Kubwa, Abuja.

Along the Kubwa-Zuba freeway, numerous additional businesses were closed as well. Numerous gas outlets in Nyanya, Nasarawa State, were shuttered.

There were long lines of cars at the few stations that had PMS on Wednesday due to their incapacity to operate.

The cause of the PMS supply constraint to Abuja and neighboring states, according to oil marketers, is being looked into. They also announced that a meeting will be held today (Thursday) to discuss the issue.

There is a shortfall of supplies in Abuja and other states that are adjacent to the federal capital area, according to Chief John Kekeocha, National Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria.

He added: “This is why many filling stations in these areas are not selling PMS, which has led to the severe queues you see in the few ones dispensing the product. I cannot tell you the reason for this supply shortage now.

“But we are meeting with NNPC Regal tomorrow (Thursday), and this will form part of our discussions. The matter is being looked into now, and we hope to find a solution Before or during the meeting.”

Prior to this, Abubakar Maigandi, National President of IPMAN, declared that once the Dangote Petroleum Refinery began supplying PMS to the domestic market, long gas lines would disappear in several states.

Maigandi said: “So we are still waiting, and we know that once he starts releasing petrol to the domestic market, this issue of fuel scarcity and queues will become a thing of the past.”

Chief Ukadike Chinedu, the IPMAN National Public Relations Officer, backed him up and said he hoped the Port Harcourt Refining Company would begin producing refined petroleum products shortly.