Lagos, Nigeria – Monday witnessed a resurgence of heavy traffic gridlock in various parts of Lagos as motorists found themselves lining up outside fuel stations, indicating a potential return of a scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
A first hand account along the Ikorodu Road corridor revealed an unusually dense traffic jam caused by motorists queuing up to purchase petrol at filling stations. Additionally, the Total Filling Station located on Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way experienced long queues, leading to significant traffic congestion around the Ikeja area.
Further observations by our correspondent noted the closure of several filling stations along the Ikeja axis, spanning Obafemi Awolowo Road in Ikeja.
In response to the situation, some motorists have resorted to hiking their fares.
One commercial transport operator plying the Unilag-Jibowu route in Yaba, who preferred to remain anonymous, shared, “You have no idea how long I had to wait to buy fuel today. Those who don’t want to enter should find another means.”
Furthermore, it was observed that all the filling stations along Ogunnusi Road inbound Berger were not dispensing petrol to customers.
The reason behind the resurgence of fuel queues in Lagos remains unclear at this time.
However, our correspondents discovered that the queues were predominantly seen at major filling stations known for selling at lower rates.
Additionally, it was reported that several filling stations owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway were also not dispensing fuel.
Hammed Fashola, the National Vice Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, acknowledged the presence of queues at some filling stations in Lagos.
Nevertheless, Fashola suggested that the queues might be a result of panic-buying by customers.
“As of now, I am not in Lagos. However, I’ve heard about the queues. It might simply be panic buying; I’m not certain if there is an actual fuel scarcity. People are just panicking. I will investigate the issue,” stated Fashola.
Via Punch.