By Nicholas Ojo
There were long queues at some petrol filling stations on Monday as rumours of fuel shortage emerged in Lagos.
Checks by QUEST TIMES show that independent marketers did not have the product to sell to motorists and other consumers.
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Some marketers have reportedly increased their pump prices from the official rate to as high as N200 and N250 per litre depending on location.
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In a report by Vanguard, the National Operations Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Mr. Mike Osatuyi, confirmed the development, saying the scarcity is a result o unsteady supply in the past few days.
He ascertained that it is as a result of the unsteady supply, depots prices have risen to between N175 and N180 per litre in Lagos and its environs.
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He said; “The situation has culminated in higher prices at the depots. Our members, who find it difficult to get the product, pay between N175 – N185 per litre. Consequently, we are compelled to sell at higher prices in order to cover cost.”
Quest Times had earlier reported that President, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Debo Ahmed, attributed the petrol scarcity in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and its environs to the flood in Lokoja.
The IPMAN’s president in a statement said the current scarcity is been caused by the break in supply of the product, stressing that there is a lot of product in the depots.
“They (suppliers) have to up their load from the depots to meet up because as it is coming, people are buying. A lot of people are thinking there is still the issue (scarcity) so they will queue. It is not that there is no product, there is a lot of product in the depots. So, it is because of the break in supply of the product that is still causing the scarcity.”