Lagos motorists on Friday continued to face hard times in getting premium motor spirit, also known as petrol, with queues at filling stations not abating.

The scenario persisted as many of the filling stations were unable to extend their hours of operation Thursday as mandated by the regulatory authority.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) had instructed depots and filling stations to extend their time of operation till normalcy returns to the fuel situation.

Similarly, the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) had directed its members to operate 18 to 24 hours daily, until the queues disappeared.

However, the situation at some petrol stations on both the Lagos Island and Mainland showed that only a few stations had so far complied with the directive.

Olumide Adeosun, chairman, MOMAN and Managing Director, Ardova Plc (AP), said AP station on the Lekki-Epe expressway was operating 24 hours every day.

He said the station had been peaking at about 85,000 litres daily due to the demand by motorists, appealing to the public to be patient as the queues subside.

“All MOMAN members are committed to opening for a minimum of 18 hours a day across all of their flagship stations.

“We have kicked off the process. I know that we have received some additional help from Civil Defence Corps whose officials were deployed to some stations with support from our colleagues in government.

“The situation will get better because we just started,” Mr Adeosun said.

However, a station manager, Fred Uko, said his outlet, situated in Obalende, usually opened by 5:00 a.m. and closed by 10:00 p.m. before the current scarcity of petrol.

“We have to reduce our time of operations to 6a.m to 8:00 p.m. due to security challenges.

“Once it is dark, some customers will become unruly while area boys (street urchins) will start harassing our attendants to sell for them in jerry cans for their black market business,” Mr Uko said.

Another station manager, Olu Fakorede, in Lekki, said they had products but could not operate for 24 hours due to inadequate manpower.

He said the fuel attendants were stressed by the attitude of some customers, hence the station closes by 9:00 p.m.

“We have to consider their safety too because some of them come to work here in Lekki Phase 1 from Lakowe,” Mr Fakorede added.

On the Mainland, many filling stations in areas visited were observed to be closed at about 8:00 p.m.

The NMDPRA had assured that about 332 million litres would be distributed into the Lagos zone within the next few days.

The current scarcity, according to the downstream petroleum regulatory agency, was caused by the importation of off-spec petrol into the country.

The products had to be withdrawn from the market, leading to a disruption in the supply chain, a situation which has left long queues of motorists at filling stations in parts of the country.

(NAN)