DPR attributes fuel queue in Abuja to drop in supply

Abuja - The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has attributed the persistent of fuel queue in Abuja and environs to a sharp drop in the lifting of oil by marketers from Suleja Depot.
A senior officer from DPR, who preferred anonymity, revealed on Thursday in Abuja that the daily supply to Abuja started dropping since the beginning of the week.
The source said that average daily supply to Abuja was between seven million and eight million litres before "but has now dropped to between one and 2 .1 million litres on Monday and Tuesday respectively."
The source however said that the fuel supply had increased to above six million litres as at Wednesday.
The official said that shortage of supply in the neighbouring towns and states also contributed to the queues in various filling stations in Abuja.
According to the source, the case also worsens because of the regulated price being enforced in the FCT by the DPR.
The official said that because of the surveillance and monitoring by DPR in Abuja, filling stations could not engage in any sharp practices or sell above pump price to the customers.
On why the resurface of queue in Abuja, the official said some of the marketers that bring fuel to Suleja Depot "most often divert to where they can sell at higher price".
Also read: 88 trucks of petrol supplied to Abuja: DPR
The source however expressed optimistic that the situation would improve.
The official warned the marketers against hoarding or selling above pump price, stressing that whosoever was caught in the act of defrauding or cheating motorists would face the full wrath of the law.
The source said that the DPR would take decisive action against such marketers or filling station owners.
Fuel queues have remained in Abuja in spite of the supply of 188 trucks of fuel on Wednesday.
It was also observed that the queue subsided a little bit on Wednesday evening but increased on Thursday morning in most filling stations with fuel.
At the NNPC Mega Filling Station on Olusegun Obasanjo Way, Central Area, long queues of vehicles blocked the flow of traffic on the road.
The Conoil and Total filling stations opposite NNPC headquarters had long queues that encircled the Bureau of Statistics Complex.
The situation was also the same at Total, Conoil, and Mobil stations at Wuse, Garki, and some independent filling stations along Berger, Jabi Road as well as the Airport Road.
All these stations mentioned were selling at the official pump price of N87 per litre.
However, it was observed that the black market operators sold the product between N120 and N150 per litre depending on the bargaining power of the buyer.