Fuel queues have resurfaced in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, and Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital., fueling speculation of another round of fuel scarcity.
The Abuja queues spill over to neighboring states like Nasarawa and Niger.
Tribune gathered that some filling stations in the Abuja metropolis are under lock and key due to the impending nationwide protest tagged ‘EndBadGovernance’ to challenge President Bola Tinubu’s administration over alleged neglect of his campaign promises which have made life unbearable for most Nigerians.
It reports that the few filling stations selling had adjusted their meters selling between N800 and N900 per liter under a strict security arrangement to forestall any breakdown of law and order.
Tension is already being heightened in the Federal Capital Territory as soldiers are seen mounting barricades at the Kugbo axis of the Abuja-Keffi expressway thus narrowing the road to traffic and restricting vehicular movement.
Residents are seen in gas stations to fill their cylinders and in markets to stockpile foodstuffs in anticipation of the planned protest scheduled to be held from August 1 to 10, 2024.
Some residents appealed to the government to find lasting solutions to the sufferings Nigerians are passing through calling on President Tinubu to rescind some of his unpopular policies which have taken the country to the edge and the citizens to the brink.
“I have never, in my over five decades of existence, seen a government so bent on imposing its unpopular economic and social policies on the citizenry even when it’s glaring that people are dying of hunger and their needs can no longer be met. Can President Tinubu take a cue from President William Ruto of Kenya who rescinded his decision to impose an unpopular tax on his people?
“You are saying people should not protest but you are living in opulence and these people are drifting into poverty day by day. How can you beat a child and then ask him not to cry? It’s not only children that are crying, parents too are crying because things have gone out of hand and they can’t feed their families again. Something urgent needs to be done. Enough is enough,” a respondent said.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL has attributed the shortage of petrol supply which has resulted in long queues at filling stations in Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory, and some other parts of the country to hitches in the discharge of the product of a ‘couple of vessels.”
The NNPC Ltd said this in a statement by its Chief Corporate Officer, Olufemi Soneye on Saturday as motorists in Lagos and Abuja continue to battle fuel scarcity.
However, the company said it is working hard to rectify the situation to restore normalcy.
The statement by the company reads, “The NNPC Ltd. wishes to state that the tightness in fuel supply and distribution witnessed in some parts of Lagos and the FCT is as a result of a hitch in the discharge operations of a couple of vessels.
“The Company further states that it is working round the clock with all stakeholders to resolve the situation and restore normalcy in the operations,” Soneye said in the statement..
