Fuel Queues Return in Abuja and Surrounding Areas Amid Nationwide Protest Concerns

Fuel queues have reappeared in Abuja and neighboring states, including Niger, Nasarawa, and Kogi, as many filling stations shut down on Friday. This move comes amid oil marketers’ concerns about a planned nationwide protest.

Several retail outlets, including those operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in Kubwa, Salbas Oil, Eterna, and Gegu Oil, ceased fuel dispensing. This situation is also mirrored inside Abuja and parts of Niger and Nasarawa states. In Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, filling stations were similarly closed, contributing to the fuel queues that resurfaced at outlets like AYM Shafa in the Dei-Dei area and the NNPC in Zuba, Niger State.

In Lagos, several filling stations were closed on Friday, sparking fears of a looming fuel scarcity. Most filling stations were not dispensing fuel, and the few that remained open sold fuel at N800 per liter.

Oil marketers cited two main reasons for the closures: the unavailability of fuel and apprehension over the anticipated nationwide protest.

In Ogun State, the situation has reached a crisis point, with motorists facing long queues amid fears of an impending fuel scarcity. The closures have prompted the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources to call for calm, assuring the public that efforts are being made to resolve the situation and ensure the availability of fuel.