WED, 26 OCT, 2022-theGBJournal| Fresh bout of petrol scarcity have hit Lagos and environs, with car queues stretching for hundreds of meters, and causing in some areas of the metropolis, unbearable hold-ups.
Petrol station managers theG&BJournal spoke to could not provide cogent reasons for the latest mayhem, but one at an NNPC retail outlet on Victoria Island attributes it to the flooding in the country.
The NNPC has not issued a statement as at press time to explain the scarcity which has deep implications for consumers pockets.
Motorist in the country are already paying higher prices for petrol. The latest National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The average retail price paid by consumers for Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) for September 2022 was N191.65, indicating a 16.26% increase when compared to the value recorded in September 2021 (N164.85), according to latest data by the NBS.
2.19% on a month-on-month from N602.48 in August 2022 to N615.69 in September 2022
At the same time, transporters have taken advantage to hike fares in the metropolis. Motorists are already paying heavy costs for transportation with average Nigerian paying 2.19% more on a month-on-month from N602.48 in August 2022 to N615.69 in September 2022.
Besides, black marketers have sprung up in Lagos, feasting on the near empty pockets of consumers with some selling a litre of petrol for as much N250 and 10-litre gallon for N3, 500.
The scarcity has had a strangle hold on Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), for a while now. The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency (NMDPRA) said earlier this month that the scarcity is as a result of the flooding in Benue State, particularly Lokoja, which has prevented fuel tankers from getting across to the FCT.
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