25 January 2016, Kaduna — A little after three weeks of steady fuel supply after the December general crunch, the now familiar site of long queues at filling stations in Kaduna Metropolis have started reappearing. Residents who spoke with our correspondent said however that the situation is not so bad compared with what they witnessed in December. “This one is not so bad because you cannot compare with it what happened in December and at least we are able to buy,” a motorist, Madam Dupe said.
Some however observed that respite for them regarding the availability of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) lasted only for three weeks saying most filling stations resumed closing their gates to customers. Few filling stations sold the commodity but the few which premises are opened are quickly saturated with intending buyers who line up and wait for their turns to fill their tanks. Our correspondents observed that the queues began to reappear late last week at the major filling stations which were mainly the ones selling fuel.
Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Sani Salsadil, who spoke with our correspondent attributed the queues to panic buying resulting from the announcement by the Nigeria national Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that it was suspending production at the Kaduna and Port Harcourt Refineries. “The public on hearing that there is shut down of the refinery are afraid and begin to do panic buying which is responsible for the long queues at the stations,” he said. A motorist who preferred not to be named however observed that the problem is worsened by the fact that most of the filling stations in the town do not sell at the same time operating at staggered periods saying that could be responsible for the queues.
- Daily Trust