Fuel scarcity has been reported in Lagos State, as long queues emerged in some filling stations on Monday.
The scarcity was said to have caused gridlock in some parts of the state and a sudden hike in transport costs.
The traffic jam appeared to be particularly severe on the Ikorodu Road axis, where cars faced an unusually long queue of motorists waiting to buy fuel at filling stations.
In addition, there were long lines at the Total Filling station on Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, resulting in high tariffs along the Ikeja axis, Punch News reported.
It was also discovered that many of the filling stations along the Ikeja axis, including Obafemi Awolowo Road in Ikeja, were closed, forcing some motorists to raise their fares in response to the event.
A commercial transport operator plying the UNILAG-Jibowu axis in Yaba said he was forced to hike his fees after waiting for hours to buy fuel.
“Do you know how long it took me to buy fuel today? Anybody who doesn’t want to enter should stay out,” the driver was quoted.
It was also observed that all the filling stations along Ogunnusi Road inbound Berger did not also sell petrol to customers.
It was unclear why fuel lineups had resumed in Lagos at the time of filing this report.
It was discovered that a number of filling stations run by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company along the Lagos-Ibadan Motorway did not distribute petrol either.
Hammed Fashola, National Vice Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, stated that he was aware of the queues at several filling stations in Lagos.
However, Fashola stated that the lineups could be due to panic buying on the part of customers.
“I am not in Lagos as we speak. But I heard about it too—that there are queues in Lagos. It may just be panic-buying. I am not sure there is fuel scarcity. People are just panicking. However, I will find out what the problem is,” Fashola said.
