The Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) on Sunday advised Nigerians not to engage in panic buying of fuel for stockpiling purposes, pointing out that bad weather is responsible for petrol shortfall in Lagos.

MEMAN executive secretary Clement Isong gave this advice in an interview due to the queues at filling stations across Lagos.

Mr Isong explained that the product shortfall in most stations was due to adverse weather and thunderstorms that delayed ship-to-ship (STS) trans-loading, among others.

He said others included berthing at jetties, truck load-outs and transportation of products to filling stations, creating a disruption in station supply logistics.

He noted that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) had also warned that the loading of petrol should be avoided during rainstorms and lightning.

Mr Isong emphasised that petroleum products were flammable and required transportation, dispensation, consumption and storage in strictly controlled and regulated manners.

“Any deviation from these regulations poses significant danger and risks, including fatalities. We wish to reiterate that there is no cause for alarm. We strongly urge Nigerians to avoid panic buying or stockpiling of petrol. This behaviour not only creates artificial scarcity but also poses a significant safety hazard,” Mr Isong said.

He added that the delay in loading petroleum products at depots due to storms contributed to the shortfall of stocks in filling stations.

“Many trucks could not load product for over 48 hours during the storm. Now that the weather is clear, marketers have begun loading, and all trucks have commenced distribution of fuel to all stations across the country. We want to assure Nigerians that there is no scarcity, and they should not stock petrol at home,” he said.

Mr Isong also mentioned that illegal smuggling of the product to neighbouring countries had increased the country’s consumption to between 58 to 60 million litres per day.

To address this, he noted that NNPCL had tightened the supply chain to avoid illegal smuggling.

According to Mr Isong, NNPCL is buying and importing petrol at international prices and selling considerably domestically.

Checks in Lagos revealed that queues for petrol resurfaced in parts of the city, with fuel stations packed with vehicles waiting to fill their tanks. The long queues extended to road networks, causing gridlock in some areas.

Some consumers were also seen queuing at closed filling stations in hopes of accessing the product.

There were long queues at NNPC stations on Ikorodu Road, Fadeyi, Bariga, and Ogba. Similar situations were seen at NIPCO stations in Fadeyi, Surulere, and Ago Palace Way. In Epe, there were queues for petrol at T-Tap, TotalEnergies, Enyo and Petrocam.

In Ikorodu, vehicles were lined up at Mobil, TotalEnergies, NIPCO, and Malo stations at Odogunyan First Gate.

(NAN)