Trouble looms as petrol marketers refuses to sell to motorists

In some parts of Lagos, yesterday, marketers of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) refused to sell their products to motorists. This situation is said to be because of the increase in the landing cost of the product.

Privately owned filling stations locked their gates – Some privately owned filling stations hoarded their petrol supplies by locking their gates, denying motorists’ entrance.

A motorist who was at the mega station of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, said many filling stations along Ojodu road refused to sell petrol to motorists, including Oando filling station.

“My neighbour who works at a depot in apapa has told us that privately owned filling stations got under supply of petrol. He said that many of them got 11,000 litres supply instead of their 33,000 litres demand.

“So, he said that we might begin to notice effect at filling stations from next week. i was alarmed today (yesterday) to have noticed that there are more filling stations who are not selling the product. The best I could do, which i have done, is to join the queues here at NNPC.”

The same thing happened in Ogun state – Except Rakab Filling Station, other stations like Faith and Mervelous, Florinkay, Iswat, Henry Oil on the Lafenwa Itele road, and some others in Ota, refused to sell petrol yesterday.

Marketers had initially threatened to increase petrol price – This action is following the recent threat by the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria, (IPMAN), to increase the price of petrol if depot owners continued to sell between N136.50 and N137 per litre.

The landing cost of petrol hit N205 per litre two days after depot owners hiked the ex-depot price from N133.28 per litre official price to N139 per litre.

The price hike is defying the directive of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), to depot owners not to sell petrol above the fixed ex-depot price.