… Fuel hawkers take over Abuja
From Uche Usim (Abuja) and Adewale Sanyaolu (Lagos)
Despite the low number of filling stations selling petrol at the approved retail price of N145 per litre, most motorists have pitched their tents with such marketers.
Findings by Daily Sun revealed that most major marketers are recording increased sales as motorists prefer to buy from them rather than independent marketers.
The Forte Oil on Oba Akran Avenue and another close to the domestic airport, Ikeja, had long queues of vehicles waiting patiently to buy the product. The same cannot be said of a fuel station on Iju Road, close to the Iju Motor Park, which sold a litre of petrol at N250.
As at 4.47pm, only five vehicles were at the filling station, an indication that motorists may have dumped it.
Some motorists who spoke to Daily Sun, said they preferred to buy petrol from major marketers because their meters are accurate, saying they are sure that 50 litres bought from such filling stations remain same and not below as against what obtains among independent marketers.
On the other hand, the motorists alleged that some unscrupulous independent marketers adulterate their fuel in addition to under-dispensing of petroleum products, an offence punishable under the law.
Meanwhile, the Director, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr. Mordecai Ladan, has commended the load out record of NIPCO Plc since the resurgence of petrol scarcity across the country. The DPR Director who disclosed this during an unscheduled visit to NIPCO terminal at Apapa, yesterday, said he was impressed with the load out and the assurances by the company’s management on hitch-free product loading as supplies from Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has improved significantly.
Mordecai who was received by the company’s Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Suresh Kumar, in company of the Chief Corporate Affairs Manager, Lawal Taofeek, said the team was on tour of depots to ascertain the availability of stocks in the depots.
In Abuja, all fuel stations that dispensed petrol had the usual long queues stretching several kilometres, just as commercial motorists are becoming accustomed to sleeping in such stations after each day’s work to refill the tanks of their vehicles.