The petrol supply challenges facing Nigeria have entered their third week, with some improvements noted following the release of more volumes by NNPC Limited. While queues at filling stations in Abuja have reduced significantly, the situation in Lagos remains unresolved.
In Abuja's central area, a few filling stations operated by major marketers have opened, but queues still stretch beyond their gates. Chief Chinedu Ukadike, the Public Relations Officer of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), stated that it will take a few more days for supply to normalize.
Ukadike noted that independent marketers who had not received any product for weeks were beginning to load, especially at coastal depots in Calabar, Port Harcourt, and Warri. He explained that Lagos scarcity affects the entire country because it is the landing port for all imported petroleum products, and NNPC uses daughter vessels to distribute products to coastal areas.
He commended NNPC for its efforts in addressing the situation, especially with the arrival of over five million litres of petrol in Port Harcourt. However, he emphasized that while there is fuel, it is not yet sufficient to return supply to normal levels.
Regarding licensing, Ukadike mentioned that over 10,000 marketers have had their licenses renewed by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority. However, there have been challenges uploading these licenses onto the NNPC portal, and he urged NNPC Limited to speed up the process to avoid locking out marketers when the portal reopens.
