Petrol scarcity ends in Lagos, persists in Port Harcourt, others

• Explosion destroys Escravos gas pipeline

Residents of Lagos and Abuja have begun heaving sighs of relief from the recent fuel scarcity, leaving people in Imo, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Kano and other parts of the country longing for similar respite.

Although some filling stations in both cities were yet to restart sales, many now have the product. But while major marketers like Mobil, Total, Conoil and Nipco sold at the approved N145 per litre, the independents did not.

Many stations in parts of Port Harcourt like Rumuagbolu, Rumusi and Mgbuoba, yesterday, were yet to recommence sales. The few that did business sold around N200 and N250 per litre.

The NNPC station at NTA Road and a handful of major retailers like Oando and Total had fuel and sold between N143 and N145 per litre, with very long queues that created traffic congestion.

Bobby, Dalax and Tonninno located at Mgbouba sold at N220 per litre.In Owerri, Imo State, yesterday all the stations around Douglas Road sold between N170 and N200 per litre. Ebere Link, Chybyke, Frank Gilly and Bencas in different parts of the city also sold above the regulated price. Forte, Oando and Mobil were out of stock.

The Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Thomas Olawore, noted that the queues would disappear in a matter of days.In a related development, the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline (ELP) suffered yet another setback, barely three days after it resumed gas supply to customers.

An explosion destroyed part of the pipeline along Egbokodo-Omadino in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State.A fire at Abakila, Ondo State, had damaged the facility on January 2, 2018. The incident affected supply to customers in Ondo, Ogun and Lagos State, with subsequent shutdown of some power plants.

Baru has, however, given a directive for its immediate repair. He also directed that supply from other sources like Oben, Oredo, Sapele, Ughelli and Utorogu be stepped up to augment any shortfall.