Fuel Queues Emerge in Abuja as Depot Prices Rise to N710/litre

Queues for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, emerged in Abuja and parts of Niger and Nasarawa States on Friday. This development followed the closure of numerous filling stations run by independent marketers, who cited an inability to access petrol due to a hike in the ex-depot price to N710/litre set by private depot owners.

Motorists flocked to the few stations dispensing petrol, particularly those operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and some major oil marketers. This led to long queues at outlets like the NNPC mega station on the Gwarimpa axis of the Zuba-Kubwa Expressway, Conoil and Total filling stations near the NNPC headquarters in Abuja, and Salbas filling station at the Dei-Dei end of the Zuba-Kubwa expressway.

Abubakar Maigandi, National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), stated that private depot owners had increased the ex-depot price to N710/litre, while NNPC retail stations maintained a pump price of N617/litre.

Maigandi explained that independent marketers were unable to sell at competitive prices after purchasing from private depots and incurring additional transportation costs, leading to higher pump prices compared to NNPC outlets. He noted that the extensive network of IPMAN-operated stations exacerbates fuel queues when supply issues arise.

Despite these challenges, officials at the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources assured that there was sufficient product available in the country and attributed the queues to market dynamics in the deregulated downstream oil sector.