Nigerian gridlock amidst fuel shortages and price increases

A double combination of persistent gasoline shortages and price increases by the state-owned oil firm has befallen Nigerians.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which imports fuel into the nation and distributes it to private vendors, attributed the country's fuel shortage to mounting debt and rising international fuel prices.

Nationwide, a lot of people are stuck in huge lines at gas stations. Although there aren't many buses running, commuters in Lagos have been forming lines at bus stops.

Others told the BBC that because the cost of public transportation has increased on some routes, people are now obliged to walk great distances.

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The NNPC announced on Tuesday that it would raise the price of gasoline to 897 naira per litre from 617 naira ($0.40, £0.30).
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The nation's cheapest fuel is sold at its gas stations, while the pump price at the great majority of other private garages is far more.

Private vendors raise their prices in response to price increases by the NNPC, and in some states, such as Oyo, Kano, and Kaduna, the cost of a litre of petrol has reached 1,200 naira.

Across the nation, a large number of garages have closed due to gasoline shortages, while some have closed to raise costs.

Most of the businesses in Abuja, the capital, are open, but there are huge lines of anxious drivers waiting their turn.
A few spent the night sleeping in their cars.

They run the risk of having their wait for nothing because gas outlets are not limiting supply.

"Most of the fuel stations here in Kano are closed because they want to adjust their pumps to the new price," a frustrated motorcyclist in Kano, the primary trading hub of northern Nigeria, said.

Aminu Danyaro told the BBC, "I was able to get fuel at 950 naira at a particular station, but other places have already started selling at 1,200 per litre."

Black-market dealers are busily engaged in business in Kano, where there is noticeably less traffic than usual. They purchase fuel from gas stations and resell it at inflated prices on the side of the road from jerrycans.

The Labour of NigeriaThe primary trade union organization in the nation, Congress (NLC), claims it feels "betrayed" and explains that it agreed to the government's commitment that gas prices would not rise in order to accept the new minimum monthly pay of 70,000 naira ($44, £34) in July.

On his first day in office last year, President Bola Tinubu startled Nigerians by eliminating a subsidy that had been keeping the price of fuel low.

The biggest economic crisis in a generation has resulted from this and other policies, and last month saw nationwide cost-of-living rallies known as "10 days of rage."

The newly constructed Dangote Petroleum Refinery, owned by Aliko, one of Africa's richest men, is now the source of hope for Nigerians.
With great hoopla, it was revealed on Monday that the refinery had just begun to produce gasoline. This is significant since Nigeria, the greatest producer of crude oil in Africa, imports all of its refined fuel.

However, it's unclear how long Nigerians will have to wait for gasoline to become more readily available or for prices to drop.




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