Fear of DSS grips petrol marketers, as one-year-old queues begin to disappear in Abuja

By KEMI KASUMU

Reports reaching us at The DEFENDER has it that almost one-year-old queues at filling stations in Abuja have begun to reduce, barely 24 hours after the Department of State Services (DSS) gave a 48-hour ultimatum to fuel marketers to end the scarcity, believed to be artificial, make the product available to Nigerians across the country or face consequences of their actions.

It was further learned from a media report that some filling stations around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were, however, still shut down with black marketers selling the product at N300 per litre, down from the N350 per litre sold the previous days.

At the city centre, according to a Vanguard report, queues were noticeably shorter than it used to be at the TotalEnergies station opposite the NNPC Towers while the Conoil station was shut.

Checks also showed that most stations along the Kubwa expressway including Shema, Salbas, NIPCO, Eterna had shorter queues unlike days before the DSS handed a 48-hour ultimatum to the marketers to ensure adequate supply.

Also Total filling Station located along Gado Nasco Road Kubwa, opened to motorists after weeks of shut down. It was gathered that a long but orderly queue of motorists waiting for their turn to buy the product was noticed at the filling station on Friday.

The case was, however, different at Eterna Petroleum Station located along Kubwa Dei-Dei Expressway as the station remained shut to members of the public as fuel attendants were seen loitering around waiting for directives.

One of the attendants who spoke to Vanguard on condition of anonymity for fear of sanctions said, “We’ve exhausted our supply, we even sold yesterday until late last night.”

In Utako District of the FCT, most petrol stations were also shut down.

For instance, NNPC retail outlet which was formerly Oando located at airport junction, Jabi; Forte Oil, NIPCO oil, all along Jabi/Utako axis were not selling. But AA. Rano mega station at Utako junction was selling.

Outside the city however, the few independent marketers which were opened sold above N250 per litre.

In Kuje Area Council of the FCT, marketers openly flouted the directives as black marketers continue to have a field day.

However, most of the major marketers sold between N179 and N185 per litre.