Abuja Gripped By Fuel Queues As Scarcity Looms

Commuters and commercial drivers in Abuja are facing long queues at fuel stations across the nation’s capital, raising fears of an impending fuel scarcity in the city.
On Friday, some filling stations remained shut while others witnessed lengthy lines of vehicles waiting to purchase petrol.
Chukuemeka Eze, a road transport worker who spent four hours queuing at a station in Apo under the scorching sun, shared his ordeal. Despite arriving earlier, he was still in line at 1pm, hoping to resume work initially scheduled for 11am.
The situation was similar in areas like Apo Resettlement, Banex, Kubwa and Lugbe, with fuel prices ranging from N617 to N680 per litre. Stations operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, which sells at the lower N617 pump price, experienced exceptionally long queues causing traffic gridlocks.
Black market operators cashed in, hawking petrol at exorbitant rates of N1,000 to N1,500 per litre around crowded filling stations. Haruna Ismail, a motorcycle rider, said he resorted to the black market to continue working.
As of press time, the cause of the latest queues was unknown. However, NNPC spokesperson Olufemi Soneye assured there was no scarcity, claiming the company had “abundant products.”
In February, a similar crisis hit Abuja after truck drivers protested high operational costs, including diesel prices, by withdrawing services before later resuming loading following talks with authorities.
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