Commuters Stranded As Fuel Queues Resurface In Lagos

Many commuters are stranded at various bus stops in Lagos State on Tuesday morning as fuel queues resurface in parts of Nigeria’s economic nerve centre.

Our correspondent who moved around some areas in the commercial city observed snake-like queues comprising private and commercial vehicles at filling stations.

The queues had spilled into main roads, and taken at least a lane as of 8 am on Tuesday when our correspondent moved through over 25 filling stations domiciled in the Agege, Alimosho, Ifako-Ijaiye, Ikeja local government areas of the state.

The queue appeared on Monday but worsened on Tuesday as vehicle owners scramble for premium motor spirit also known as petrol.

At one of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited outlets at Omole, near the popular Berger bus stop, a fuel attendant told our correspondent that the station did not get petrol over the weekend, hence the shortage.

Another fuel attendant who spoke anonymously attributed the supply shortfall to the flooding ravaging parts of the country, saying tanker drivers are having a tough time navigating dilapidated roads worsened by incessant rainfall and floods.

Meanwhile, commuters were stranded at numerous bus stops in the four local government areas as commercial vehicles popularly known as drivers of Danfos and tricycles locally known as Keke Napep hiked transport fares with about 50%.

Efforts to get the comments of NNPC spokesperson, Garba-Deen Mohammed, proved abortive as of press time as his line was switched off. Also, a text message sent to his line has not been replied.

On Saturday, NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari at the commissioning of Pinnacle Oil and Gas FZE Terminal in the Lekki area of Lagos said, “The largest consumer of petroleum product is Lagos and anytime we have any disruption to supply in Lagos, we panic because the trouble will start here.”

Floods have also disrupted fuel supply in Abuja and some north central states like Kogi, Nasarawa and Benue where bridges vital for movement of fuel tankers have been submerged.

Over 20 states across Nigeria have been affected by floods in the last two months displacing millions and killing over 600 persons, according to the National Emergency Management Agency.

The Nigeria Liquefied and Natural Gas (NLNG) Company recently declared force majeure because of the devastating floods across the country which have disrupted supply.

The notice has sent users of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) also known as cooking gas into panic mode but the company said there is no need for panic buying or hoarding of the essential domestic commodity.