Independent research carried out by Nairametrics last week and over the weekend has revealed that the average motorist in cities like Lagos and Abuja will likely spend up to 8 hours to get fuel today.
Peak periods: As observed by Nairametrics, between the hours of 4 am and 7:30 pm from Monday to Sunday, the peak periods, which signify longer hours at filling stations across several locations in Lagos and Abuja are:
Mondays:
4:30 am to 9:00 am
12 noon to 2 pm
4 pm to 7 pm
Tuesdays:
5 am to 10 am
12 noon to 2 pm
4 pm to 7 pm
Wednesdays:
5 am to 9:30 am
11:30 am to 2 pm
3:30 pm to 7 pm
Thursdays:
4 am to 10:30 am
12 noon to 3 pm
3 pm to 7 pm
Fridays:
4 am to 12 noon
1 pm to 7 pm
Saturdays:
4 am to 12 noon
1 pm to 7:30 pm
Sundays:
8 am to 12 noon
2 pm to 7:30 pm
Growing trends
Motorists favor NNPC filling stations in Abuja: Nairametrics research showed that filling stations owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) in suburbs like Kubwa, Karu, and Wuse in Abuja usually sell fuel from morning till nightfall, giving motorists the chance to buy fuel at N180 per liter.
Auwal Mohammed, a Lagos-based civil servant told Nairametrics that he only buys fuel from NNPC because their fuel prices are less than what other stations are selling, but he suffers a lot for it because NNPC queues are longer. But in the end, he can fill up his tank at the rate they are selling.
As noticed by Nairametrics, customers spend up to 8 hours in never-ending queues at NNPC stations, which impacts productivity. Some motorists have on occasion, had to sacrifice work hours just to get fuel directly from filling stations.
Nigerians are leaving their cars at home: Some have left their cars at home and tried to use the public transportation system, where they encounter exorbitant prices due to fuel scarcity. Tunde O, an Abuja-based motorist who spoke to Nairametrics said he had abandoned his car at home in favour of the public transportation system for his work commute from Mararaba to Garki Area 8. He said he pays an average of N1000 for his daily commute now and that the drivers of the Hiace buses he uses are uncompromising when it comes to fare charges. He said:
- “That’s how I know that fuel scarcity is a big challenge for them. There is no fuel and some filling stations have started locking up even before nightfall, so some of these bus drivers have to patronise the black-market traders and from what I hear, some of them sell as high as N600 per liter, depending on the location.”
Adapting to the situation: Jonathan Useni, an Abuja-based contractor told Nairametrics that the population is larger in areas like Nyanya, Mararaba and One-man Village compared to places like Asokoro, Wuse, Garki and Maitama. So, he and some other motorists, who live in Nyanya have worked out a system.
- “Around 6 pm on weekdays, when we are sure that many people have closed from work and are on their way home and a lot of vehicles are locked in traffic, we drive from our areas in Nyanya to places like Wuse, Maitama, and surrounding areas to buy fuel. This is because those stations usually do not have long queues like you would see in the areas I mentioned, especially in the evenings. We can encounter queues or even locked stations, but, in the end, we must buy fuel.
Some filling stations are not serving motorists: Nairametrics also noticed that some filling stations usually lock up during supposed work hours. It was revealed that owners/managers of these stations restrict sales due to the exorbitant prices they have to pay to private depot owners to get fuel. Nairametrics had earlier reported that private depot owners sell fuel to independent marketers at N195 to N210 per liter, as opposed to N148 per liter. Private depot owners are complaining about the cost of transportation from the mother vessel to their private depots because of the escalation of the cost of the dollar, as they buy their dollars at the black-market rate.
Nigerians are desensitized: Nigerians are stressed out from the fuel scarcity challenge, however, there are scarce complaints across the board. Chukwudi Nelson, a commercial driver in Lagos told Nairametrics that Nigerians are no longer complaining because they know that the powers that be do not care, so they just tighten their belts and move on.
For the record: November 23 data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) shows that the country had over 488 million liters of land-based stock of fuel as of November 22, 2022.
