FRESH indications has emerged that shortage of petrol in the country has worsened as many filling stations decided to shut their doors against motorists and other buyers in Abuja as well as Lagos, Oyo and Ogun states.
According to a Sunday Vanguard report, while many of the stations had exhausted their stock of quality petrol, others still had commercial stock of the bad product which utilisation, last week, culminated in the damage of many automobiles, generators and other equipment.
Some marketers, who pleaded anonymity, said it will take a while to bring in new product, especially because of limited space for storage.
According to the marketers, the bad product will have to be properly evacuated from depots and filling stations to authorised places before the new product could be moved into the domestic market.
Meanwhile, the situation has culminated in the emergence of illegal or black market, whose operators were seen hawking the product at between N200 and N350 per litre, depending on location in Lagos and environs.
Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, created to regulate operations under the newly established Petroleum Industry Act, PIA, responding to the development, yesterday, ordered all depots and filling stations to open their doors for inspection.
The inspection and quantification of the bad product will be carried out by various committees, including technical and commercial, established during the recent stakeholders engagement in Lagos.
Also yesterday, in line with Federal Government’s promise to deal with those behind the bad petrol, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, commenced moves targeted at bringing importers and distributors of the product to book.
