As fuel queues resurface in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and neighbouring states such as Nasarawa and Niger States, the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has revealed that the situation is due to tightness in petroleum supply and distribution being encountered in some parts of Lagos and the FCT as a result of hitch in the discharge operations of some vessels.
Tribune Online reports that some filling stations in the metropolis are under lock and key and this is due to the impending nationwide protest tagged ‘EndBadGovernance’ to challenge the President Bola Tinubu’s administration over neglect of his campaign promises which have made life unbearable for most Nigerians.
Few filling stations who were selling have adjusted their metres selling between N800 and N900 per litre under strict security arrangement to forestall any break down in law and order.
Our correspondent discovered that tensions are already being heightened in the Federal Capital Territory as soldiers are seen mounting barricades Kugbo axis of the Abuja-Keffi expressway thus narrowing the road to traffic restricting vehicular movement.
However, the NNPC in a statement signed by its Chief Corporate Communications Officer (CCCO), Olufemi Soneye, and made available to Tribune Online read: “The NNPC Ltd wishes to state that the tightness in fuel supply and distribution witnessed in some parts of Lagos and the FCT is as a result of a hitch in the discharge operations of a couple of vessels.”
The company added that it is working round the clock with all stakeholders to resolve the situation and restore normalcy in the operations.
Meanwhile, residents are seen in gas stations to fill their cylinders and in markets to stockpile foodstuffs in anticipation for the looming protest which is expected to hold from August 1 to 10, 2024.
Some residents who spoke to Tribune Online however appealed to the government to find lasting solutions to the sufferings Nigerians are passing through calling on President Tinubu to rescind some of his unpopular policies which have taken the country to the edge and the citizens to the brink.
“I have never, in my over five decades of existence, seen a government so bent on imposing its unpopular economic and social policies on the citizenry even when it’s glaring that people are dying of hunger and their needs can no longer be met. Can President Tinubu take a cue from President William Ruto of Kenya who rescinded his decision to impose unpopular tax on his people.
“You are saying people should not protest but you are living in opulence and these people are drifting into poverty day by day. How can you beat a child and then ask him not to cry? In fact, it’s not only children that are crying, parents too are crying because things have gone out of hands and they can’t feed their families again. Something urgent needs to be done. Enough is enough,” a respondent said.
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