For the first time since the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery began supplying petrol in 2024, queues have returned to filling stations in Abuja, with most outlets shut for lack of product.
Reports said that several filling stations were closed as of weekend, while the few that opened were overwhelmed by long queues of motorists.
The scarcity followed last week’s industrial action by oil workers, under the aegis of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), which lasted about three days.
Reports quoting the Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Ukadike, assured that the queues would disappear in two to three days.
Ukadike said the disruption in supply was due to industrial action embarked upon by oil workers last week.
“It is not just Abuja alone, it was also dry in Lagos two days ago and it was also dry in the east. It is a reflective effect of the PENGASSAN strike.
‘’You must also know that now that loading has commenced, within two to three days this little disruption in terms of distribution will be over and we will resume normally.
“There is no cause for alarm,” he added.
He disclosed that Dangote Refinery has now become the only source of petroleum products in the country, with NNPC Limited, depot owners and marketers now patronising the $20 billion facility.