Due to private depot owners raising the ex-depot price of petrol from N630 to N720 per litre, fuel scarcity is beginning to manifest in Lagos and other regions of Nigeria.

Due to their refusal to purchase the pricey fuel from private depots, numerous gas stations in Lagos, Ogun, and other states have ran out of stock. Fuel owners are asking up to N900 a litre for it.

In an interview with Punch, Hammed Fashola, the National Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), stated that a lack of fuel is the reason behind the closure of numerous filling stations. The only company that imports gasoline, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), was encouraged by him to inform Nigerians of the issue.

“Stations are closed because they lack

petrol. Since the NNPC is the sole importer, they must inform us of any developments. Independent retailers are unable to afford to pay N720 a litre for fuel. It is too expensive when you factor in the cost of the depot and transportation. Stations are closing as a result. Because they understand that consumers cannot afford pricey gas in current economy, some marketers refuse to purchase, according to Fashola.

While the NNPC sells to large marketers for less than or around N600 per litre, private depot owners used to sell gasoline to independent marketers for N630–N650 per litre. The NNPC has repeatedly been asked by IPMAN to supply them directly, as they do with large marketers, but the NNPC has refused.

Fashola urged Nigerians to buy only what they need and not panicking so that the petroleum in circulation is possible. While independent marketers offer gasoline between N750 and N800 per litre, major marketers sell it for less than N650.