PUNCH
The fuel crisis being experienced by Nigerians is yet to abate even as petrol vessels birthed at Lagos and other ports in the country.
Our correspondent observed that the queues in Abuja, Lagos and other parts of the country persisted on Tuesday as the tanks run dry in filling stations.
Dealers who spoke to The PUNCH disclosed that petrol vessels were berthing at the ports one after the other, saying this may not be enough to rescue the situation.
According to them, depot owners now supply fuel to their filling stations only due to low supply.
“The depots are not wet yet. We are still doing epileptic loading. No product for third parties. That is, the depots are prioritising their own stations.
“That is always the case for depot operators. They will prefer to keep their stations wet to promote customer loyalty. Independent marketers will be left in the cold,” a dealer said.
Another source told our correspondent, “It’s not that vessels are not berthing, but the rate cannot meet the expected loading to reduce queues. We need to double up. Apapa jetty alone needs at least two vessels discharging simultaneously, but the vessels are coming one after the other and that cannot solve the pending problem.”
