Fuel scarcity is getting worse in many parts of the country, even as oil marketers alleged that the shortage of the commodity was a ploy to increase its price.
MSN gathered that the queues of vehicles waiting for fuel continued to get longer in Abuja and neighbouring states of Nasarawa and Niger on Monday as only few filling stations dispensed fuel.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation however sent out a statement, insisting that it had enough products for local consumption for about 40 days.
Oil marketers on the other hand cited the rising prices of crude in the international market and the worsening foreign exchange crisis, alleging that the Federal Government and its agencies were consequently trying to increase the price of petrol.
There were serious traffic jams in locations in Ibadan where fuel was sold to motorists on Monday, as the queue of vehicles waiting to be refuelled stretched into the roads.
It was the same situation in Lagos and other major cities in Nigeria.
In Abuja, the Forte Oil filling station opposite Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, sold fuel for the most part of Monday. Consequently, long queues of vehicles stretched into adjourning roads and caused severe traffic jam in the area.
The National Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chief Ukadike Chinedu, said the current scarcity would lead to hike in price.
He said, “They (government) want people to buy it at a high rate before they will announce an increase in price. When filling stations or black marketers start selling it at around N250/litre, they will then announce a pump price that could be between N180 to N200/litre.
“Then people will now say, oh thank God for we now have patrol no matter the increase in price. It is a market tactics. And it is intentionally done to effect a change in price.”
But the spokesperson of NNPC, Kennie Obateru, said the corporation had not increased the ex-depot price for petrol and had ruled out such hike in March.
He said the NNPC was not contemplating any raise in the price of petrol in March in order not to jeopardise ongoing engagements with organised labour and other stakeholders on an acceptable framework that would not expose Nigerians to hardship.
The NNPC also cautioned marketers not to engage in arbitrary price increase or hoarding of petrol in order not to create artificial scarcity.
