Fuel scarcity, panic buying in Lagos as NARTO threatens strike
Residents of the nation’s commercial capital, Lagos, began the new week, yesterday, with some level of anxiety and confusion as fuel scarcity appeared in some parts of the state, especially on the Island axis.
With an estimated population of 15.3 million, the roads play host to over five million cars and 200,000 commercial vehicles. The panic began gradually at the weekend when unusual long queues of vehicle at various filling stations in Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki were noticed as residents spent longer period trying to buy the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol.
Many had attributed this to increased demand for fuel due to power outage following a fire incident that led to the shutdown of Nigeria’s largest power plant, Egbin, from the national grid, last week.
However, the long queues persisted yesterday morning despite improved power supply. There were long queues on Awolowo road in Ikoyi, which caused gridlock along the axis.
The situation was different on the mainland part of Lagos as queues were barely noticed at filling stations monitored. This posed a challenge for motorists and commuters resuming their daily activities after the weekend break.
Most of the fuel stations visited in the metropolis claimed they were without supply. The few stations that had supply attracted long queues.
From Ojodu-Berger to Lekki, Gbagada, Alapere, Oshodi-Apapa axis, Ajah, Sangotedo, Mile-2, among others, long queues were sighted in filling stations, which in some stations spiraled into the major roads.
Many commuters along the Lekki-Epe Expressway, including Sangotedo and Victoria Garden City (VGC) axis had a hectic time in traffic. On the Island (Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Obalende axis), only a few stations had supply with manageable queues. It was the same situation along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Some commuters resorted to trekking long distances to get to their destinations, while commercial transporters took advantage of the situation to hike transport fares on busy routes. The fare from Ajah to CMS, which, ordinarily, was N400, was hiked to N1,000.
Follow Us on Facebook – @LadunLiadi; Instagram – @LadunLiadi; Twitter – @LadunLiadi; Youtube – @LadunLiadiTV for updates
