Amidst Promises Of Addressing Marketers’ Concerns By FG, Fuel Queues Persist At Filling Stations

Prolonged vehicular queues have appeared at filling stations that are opened to serve members of the public in Rivers State.

Otherwise, most filling stations shut down their operations and refuse to dispense fuel even when they have the product in stock.

It is believed that they are anticipating a possible increase in the pump price of petrol, which will likely yield them more profit.

The resurfaced heavy vehicular queues at filling stations seemed connected to the meeting that was convened between stakeholders in the downstream sector of the industry with the federal government on Monday.

At the end of the meeting, the federal government had vowed to address the concerns of the transporters and distributors of Petroleum products.

The promise was to the effect that government would ensure that they carried out their operations smoothly despite the associated high cost and cushion the maintenance of trucks used in the distribution of the products.

Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Oil, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, had given the assurance after the meeting in Abuja.

The stakeholders at the meeting were the members of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO, and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN.

Others were the Petroleum Tankers Drivers, PTD, and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG.

The minister also addressed the planned nationwide suspension of lifting of petroleum products by NARTO from Monday due to high cost of operations and vehicle maintenance.

“Nigerians are already going through a lot as a result of the circumstances we found ourselves in.

“The issues they raised are basically commercial and as a government, we have to intervene so that Nigerians will not suffer. At the end of the engagement, there will be a solution.”

But the speculations have not whittled because they have compelled vehicular queues to resurface at filling stations.

There are anticipations that the official new price of government for pump price of petrol will be N1000.

Some filling stations that are opened for business in Rivers State are however, selling between N670, N730 or N800 per litre.

This has also impacted on the mood of public transportation in Rivers State.

The fare per drop has suddenly increased, taking commuters by surprised on Tuesday’s morning.