Less than a week to Nigeria’s planned protest, fuel queues have started to get longer in Lagos, Abuja, and other parts of the nation.

Checks by Vanguard indicate that many filling stations are out of stock, thus shutting their gates against motorists and other users of the product.

The checks showed that there were long queues at filling stations with stocks of the product as panic buying continued in some parts of the nation.

Illegal operators were also seen hawking the product at Arepo, Maryland, and Marina, due to the absence of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDRA), an industry regulator, to enforce order.

However, in a statement obtained by Vanguard, Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd, stated: “The NNPC Ltd wishes to state that the tightness in fuel supply and distribution witnessed in some parts of Lagos and the FCT is as a result of a hitch in the discharge operations of a couple of vessels.

“The company further states that it is working round the clock with all stakeholders to resolve the situation and restore normalcy in the operations.” (Saturday Vanguard)