By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
The recurring fuel scarcity in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and its environs is biting harder as all the fuel retail outlets have been without the much sought-after Premium Motor Spirits (PMS) which powers most vehicles, tricycles and motorcycles as well as small capacity generators.
This is even as the epileptic electricity supply by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has added to the misery of residents of the city who have seen prices of goods and services rise astronomically to get out of the reach of ordinary Nigerians.
Investigations showed that most filling stations in Abuja owned by both independent marketers and the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) have been under lock and keys for the past three days now while the few which have products witnessed long queues and blocking of major roads and streets.
The majority of filling stations along major roads in Abuja such as the Kubwa Expressway, Airport Road axis and Maraba/Nyanya axis were without fuel since Friday as most of them have shutdown their facilities.
For instance, most of NNPCL retail stations in the city including NNPCL near Chinese Embassy in the Central Business District (CBD), NNPCL retail station at Games Village and a smaller station at Kabusa Village, Abuja have been without products for the past one week.
Other retail outlets without products for days now are A.A.Rano mega station at City Gate; NIPPCO filling station;
A.Y. Shafa; Mobil; Eterna and TotalEnergies retail outlets along Airport Road, Lugbe.
Yet, many others located across the Council Areas of Abuja and environs have been without products for days as the scarcity bites harder and people’s hardship increasing by the day.
Prompt News reports that NNPCL retail outlet along Kubwa Expressway which had products witnessed massive queues on Friday, similar to Ranoil in Gwarimpa.
Meanwhile, President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, who spoke on the development revealed that the non-supply of PMS (Petrol) by the NNPCL is the reason for the product scarcity in Abuja, Nasarawa, and other states.
Speaking on the development, Gillis-Harry lamented that he visited numerous filling stations but could not find fuel.
According to him, fuel marketers cannot fix prices since they are not importing the product; rather, they sell according to the amount they buy. He stressed that the reason for the fuel queues and scarcity is because PETROAN members and marketers do not have the product.
“Yesterday (Friday), I went to over fifteen filling stations in Abuja, including NNPCL retail outlets, but there is no product. If they say they increase prices, it is their own thing. You sell according to how much you buy the product.
“We don’t have the product, that is the reason for the scarcity. We cannot fix a price because we don’t import the product; it is NNPCL that is the sole importer.
However, neither Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Engr. Mele Kyari nor the spokesperson of NNPCL, Chief Olufemi Soneye, has made public statements on the reason for the acute scarcity of petrol in FCT and neighbouring cities . READ ALSO:
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The development comes as the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its latest Petrol Price Watch, reported that the average price of the product per liter rose to N769.62 in May 2024.
Recall that Nigerians have not known peace since May 29, 2023 when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced the fuel subsidy removal which led pump prices to increase to around N700 per liter from N238.11.
