There seems to be some level of anxiety and confusion in Lagos as fuel scarcity appears to have hit some parts of the state, especially the island axis.
There were unusual long queues of vehicle at various filling stations in Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki, over the weekend trying to buy the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, which was thought to have been caused by increased demand of the product due to power blackout.
The long queues at the filling stations which has been causing traffic in those locations seem to have persisted on Monday morning despite improved power supply.
However, the situation appears to be different on the mainland part of Lagos as there have not been reported cases of long queues at filling stations or fuel scarcity, as it appears normal and stable.
This is coming at a time when the controversy on the petrol subsidy removal or otherwise still rages on.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, has always allayed fears of any hitch in the supply of petroleum products assuring of their availability, despite reported cases of scarcity of these products especially petrol, in some parts of the country.
Investigation by Nairametrics showed that there were long queue of vehicles on Awolowo road in Ikoyi, on Friday night, which caused a lot of gridlock on that axis. This situation persisted throughout the weekend and seems to have continued on Monday morning.
Nairametrics monitored some comments and observations of Twitter users on the fuel scarcity and long queue of vehicles on the island part of Lagos.
Traffic Updates in its tweet post said scarcity of fuel causes huge traffic jams in the island area of Lagos.
"@geetika_sb: Scarcity of fuel causes huge traffic jams in the island area of #lagos Happy Monday! pic.twitter.com/yxsjhEeumO
— Butter (@trafficbutter) February 7, 2022
A twitter user, King Adewale Ojomo, in his tweet post alleged that the current fuel scarcity that is being experienced in some parts of Lagos is caused by importation of bad fuel that has the ability to damage cars.
This current fuel scarcity we are experiencing in parts of Lagos I gathered from a source is caused by the importation of “bad” fuel that has the ability of damaging cars into the country. The reserve that we have is being rationed amongst the fueling stations hence the scarcity
— AO (@AdewaleOjomo) February 6, 2022
The.PHAT.Lawyer in her tweet post said there is fuel scarcity in Lagos today adding that all filling stations on the island are closed.
There’s fuel scarcity in Lagos today. All fuel stations on the island are closed.
— Zane’s Mummy (@anthony_fedora) February 6, 2022
RSS entertainment in a tweet post said that there is no fuel scarcity in Lagos State, attributing the long queues to increase in demand by users to power their generator due to the recent blackout in the state.
Na scam jare
Fuel no scars
It’s because there’s no light as it use to be and you know there’s heat everywhere in Lagos so everyone need fuel to on generator na why people dey plenty for petrol station
They now term it to fuel scarcity— RSS entertainment (@Teebigadekunle) February 7, 2022
Madam Sunshine in her tweet post asked if there is fuel scarcity in Lagos as for 3 consecutive days she has been seeing long queues at filling stations on Awolowo road Ikoyi, both early in the morning and at night.
Please is there a fuel scarcity in Lagos? This is the third day I’m seeing this type of fuel queue very early in the morning on Awolowo road and it’s the same thing at night when I’m leaving work from 9pm. pic.twitter.com/eJOEUvi5xt
— Madam Sunshine (@thishotsunshine) February 6, 2022