Over the weekend around major parts of the country, Nigerians woke up to the news rapidly circulated that fuel also known as ‘Premium Motor Spirit’ (PMS) might be scarce in circulation. The genesis of this widely circulated news story is still yet unknown but it was gathered that major filling stations within the country had witnessed an increase in the number of motorists wanting to purchase petrol.
Residents in Abuja recorded long queues at various filling stations as early as 7:30am on Saturday morning and there was also the presence of Nigerians who wanted to buy petrol in jericans for storage.
Notably in Sokoto state, there were long queues at some filling stations even as at this morning (Monday). Some motorists noted that they woke up to discover the scarcity of petrol without any prior warning or information from the government.
The scarcity of petrol in some filling stations in Sokoto state led to the emergence of black marketers of the products. Some residents in Sokoto state noted that with the situation of fuel scarcity in sight, it is most likely going to increase the price of the scarce commodity.
Meanwhile in Abuja, some residents noted that there was no fuel scarcity rather Nigerians were subjecting themselves to panic buying. A motorist who pleaded for anonymity stated that she drove into an Oando filling station in Garki on Sunday and bought petrol without spending up to 20 minutes on the queue.
She said she had no idea why Nigerians were carrying such news of an impending fuel scarcity when the products are readily available for purchase at most filling stations within the Federal Capital.
