Queues at petrol stations in Lagos which were noticed late Monday blossomed into full-scale scarcity by Tuesday morning.
It had immediate effect on the transport system as public transporters jacked up fares, with many motorists stranded as motor vehicles became scarcer.
TheRainbow correspondent who went round on Tuesday observed long queues in virtually all stations that we’re dispensing products.
went round on Tuesday, in Lagos and its environs, long queues were seen in almost all the petrol stations that were selling the products while many remained under locks and key.
Mobil filling stations in Aguda and Ijesha road were both selling but the queue stretched far.
Forte Oil near Ojuelegba was dispensing but the queue which had started building up the previous day had become terrifying.
Mobil station adjacent Adeola Odeku on Victoria Island, Capital Oil and Oando petrol stations at Berger bus stop were also dispensing while MRS petrol station at Berger was out of stock.
Conoil station at Magboro in Ogun State was also dispensing when the Nigerian Tribune visited.
It was not clear what was the reason for the resurgence of queues in Lagos and some adjourning towns in OGUN State.
Incidentally, there is no scarcity elsewhere across Nigeria. In Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Kaduna, where our correspondents went round there was no signs of fuel scarcity.
However, the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its downstream subsidiary, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), have urged motorists not to panick buy, saying there is enough fuel in its stock.
The corporation said there were over 32 days ample stock of petroleum products available for supply across the nation during the yuletide and beyond.
It urged motorists not to engage in panic buying while also noting that the market was robust with premium motor spirit otherwise called petrol.
In a statement signed by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs, NNPC, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, on Tuesday, the NNPC stated that the noticeable queues in some petrol stations in Lagos were attributable to panic buying caused by reduced truck-out of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from depots in Apapa area of Lagos due to the gridlock created by the ongoing road construction in Apapa.
The corporation urged marketers affected by the Apapa road construction to load their petroleum products from its inland depot in Mosimi so as to support the “zero tolerance to fuel queues” policy across the country.
It appealed to marketers to immediately commence loading from the PPMC Mosimi depot to cover for the shortfall from Apapa.
