THERE seems to be no end in sight to the current fuel scarcity in the country, which has entered its sixth week.
Some stakeholders have posited that the current government is using the development to set booby-trap for the incoming administration of the president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari.
Moreso, it was also discovered that depots across the country had turned into “grave yards,” as petroleum tanker drivers shunned loading since Monday.
During a visit to Apapa depot, on Tuesday, no tanker was seen loading fuel, despite the availability of the product at some depots.
The situation was also the same at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) depots at Mosinmi and Sagamu.
The non-refusal to load fuel by Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) was due to industrial action embarked upon by Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) and National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers (NUPENG).
The oil workers had threatened not to load the petroleum product unless the Federal Government reversed the decision to transfer operatorship of the Joint Venture Partnership in Oil Mining Licenses (OMLs) 40 and 42 to Neconde Energy Nigeria Limited and Elcrest Exploration and Production Limited.
This had resulted into panic buying by motorists across Lagos and its metropolis.
Most of the filling stations visited by the Nigerian Tribune on Tuesday were under lock and key, while the few ones selling the product had long queues.
Panic buying of fuel had also resulted into black marketers smiling to banks, with many of them seen with gallons selling to motorists at exorbitant price.
Some motorists said they bought fuel at N200 per litre on Tuesday, due to the scarcity of petrol. A 30-litre gallon was sold at N6,000 each while 50-litre gallon was being sold at N10,000.
However, oil marketers were scheduled to meet with the president-elect in Abuja, on Tuesday, though the meeting was yet to commence as of 6.30 p.m.
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