BUSINESS DAY
Petrol queues, crowded bus stops, traffic and hikes in transport fares have returned to most states in Nigeria with residents resorting to buying petrol in jerrycans, fondly referred to as ‘kegs’ as black market prices soar towards N2000 per litre.
Findings by BusinessDay showed long lines of motorists snaking around petrol stations, some waiting for hours only to be turned away due to lack of the product, despite assurance from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) Ltd that the logistics issue had been resolved.
Marketers expect normalcy next week
A senior oil executive in Nigeria’s downstream sector said the petrol scarcity will end before the end of this week.
He noted that the current petrol scarcity is due to the scarcity of products caused by hitches in the logistics operations of NNPC Ltd.
“We expect that by next week or so, NNPC should be able to restore supply and within another week, normalcy should return,” the source said.
“The NNPC Group CEO has assured us that there will be improvement in the supply chain because their vessels are arriving,” he said.
Billy Gillis-Harry, the president of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) said its members do not have access to petroleum products.
“Well, from my perspective as a retail outlet owner and representing all the retail outlet owners who are members of PETROAN, I can tell you that our challenge is that we do not have access to the product,” Gillis-Harry said on Monday during Channels TV’s Morning Brief breakfast programme.
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