A few hours after President Bola Tinubu stated that the era of subsidy payment on fuel has ended, queues in filling stations have sprung up across major parts of the country.
Tinubu had said the 2023 budget made no provision for fuel subsidy and more so, subsidy payment, is no longer justifiable.
In many parts of the country, reports revealed that motorists and other users rushed to filling stations to purchase petrol after the announcement.
Many of these filling stations in the Lagos metropolis have resorted to hoarding petroleum products or have sold them at an exorbitant amount with prices ranging from N300 to N350 per litre in some places.
Similarly, long queues have also been reported in Benin, Edo State capital as several commuters reacted to the inaugural speech by flooding petrol stations
Despite the race to get petrol, the NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari on Monday while welcoming the pronouncement of the President on the removal of fuel subsidy said the move is in the best interest of the company.
Kyari, however, advised against panic buying, assuring of sufficient quantity of the product in stock.
“We will like to assure Nigerians that we have a sufficient supply of petroleum products especially Premium Motor Spirits in our country and there is no need to panic.”
“We understand that people will be scared of potential changes to the price of petrol but there is not enough reason for people to rush to filling stations.”