Fuel Price Rises To N800 Per Liter

Fuel prices reach N800 per liter as ships carrying 240 million liters of cargo arrive in Nigeria.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, began the offloading of 240 million liters of Petroleum, on Monday, April 29, in an effort to combat the growing shortage of gasoline across the country.

Filling stations in different regions sold the commodity at an average price of N800 per litre as the NNPCL started the offloading procedure.

On Monday, April 29, 240 million liters of gasoline that had been brought into the nation were unloaded from five vessels into five depots.

This information was confirmed by Ayo Cardoso, the South-West Regional Coordinator of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

“We are doing something about the fuel crisis; very soon it will be over. Vessels are discharging as I am talking to you. What we are concentrating on is to push the NNPC, which is the supplier of last resort, to make sure they wet the entire populace.

“So, we have about five vessels already discharging the product, about 240 million litres are being discharged as I am talking to you right now. We are working round the clock.

“But then, once you have a problem, it takes like one or two weeks to (normalize), but people will keep on panicking, which is not supposed to be. All these kinds of things disrupt the normal way of operations. But with 240 million litres coming in from five vessels discharging to five depots already today, things will get back to normal,” Cardoso assured Nigerians.

Residents of Lagos and other parts of the country continued to have trouble getting petrol, and many filling stations remained closed, despite claims from the NNPCL that the logistical issues causing the fuel shortage had been rectified.

According to reports, the NNPCL's mandate mandating that fuel trucks service the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, first before other areas, could cause the situation to worsen in Lagos State and other regions of the southwest.

Hundreds of loaded trucks were sent to Abuja on Sunday in accordance with the NNPCL's direction, according to sources in the oil industry.

Petrol prices have increased at filling stations across the country, with a liter costing anything from N650 to over N1,000.

Black marketeers took advantage of the higher pump pricing and sold gasoline for more over N1,200 a litre, depending on negotiation and location.

The suffering brought on by the lack of fuel got worse on Monday. As the country got back to work for the new week, queues at filling stations got longer.

In several states, public school reopenings coincided with the fuel scarcity, making matters worse for parents, educators, and administration.