The fuel crisis rocking Nigeria worsened yesterday with more marketers of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol shutting their gates against motorists. More filling stations in Lagos, however, took advantage of the situation yesterday as they shut their gates against motorists who trooped to their stations for petrol. On the entire stretch of Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, only the Oando Filling Station at U-Turn was seen selling the product during a survey by this newspaper. The same situation was also observed at Iju-Fagba- Agege road in Lagos where none of the over 10 filling stations sold product yesterday.

The gates of all filling stations on College Road, Ogba, except Conoil, were shut yesterday. The fuel crisis has also spread to Delta, Rivers, Kwara, Ogun and Osun states. Queues of vehicles and kegs were at the Total filling station along the Warri – Sapele road, in Sapele while stations like Forte Oil, Mobil shut their gates for motorists. Panic buying also led to queues at filling stations in Ilorin, Kwara State. In Osun, motorists, commercial motorcyclists and other petrol users queued up on Sunday for petrol at filling stations that dispensed the product.

The same situation was observed in Ota and Abeokuta in Ogun State, where queues of vehicles and kegs were observed at filling stations that were selling petrol.

In Osun State, many petrol stations were not selling the product. A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) who went round the Osun State capital, Osogbo, and its environs yesterday reports that many of the petrol stations were under lock and key. The few petrol stations selling the product had long queues of vehicles.

Tayo Arowolo, a fuel attendant in one of the filling stations visited, said the scarcity of the product was as a result of inability of many of the Independent marketers to lift the product at the Lagos depot. Arowolo said most petrol stations in the state were hoarding the product and selling to motorists at a particular time while others stopped selling earlier than expected.

He said that if the situation was not urgently addressed, it would bring untold hardship on the people. Mr. Yusuf Ayinla, a motorist who was on the queue at Conoil Filling Station at Old Garage, Osogbo, said it was sad that petrol stations were hoarding the product, thereby creating artificial scarcity. Ayinla, however, implored the appropriate authorities to do the needful before things become more difficult for the common man.

Another motorist, Mr. Ayo Adeyanju, said many commercial drivers were taking advantage of the scarcity to increase transport fares. Adeyanju appealed to government to intervene in the situation before it gets out of hand.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), however, insisted that Nigerians should desist from panic buying as this is capable of boosting hoarding and profiteering by marketers.

•Excerpted from a New Telegraph report.