Gasoline attendants have been charged with facilitating the sale of black market goods after long periods of fuel scarcity and long lines at gas stations returned throughout the Federal Capital Territory, or FCT.
Black merchants have profited from the fuel shortage in the area of the Federal capital city, according to HITUPTV, who made the observation.
Even though the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPC, promised ample fuel in December, Abuja has been seeing long lines, which is helping illegal marketers do more business.
According to information obtained by our correspondent, black marketers can be seen swarming about filling stations while openly exhibiting fuels in jerry cans in an effort to draw customers while drivers complain about the paucity of fuel in the stations. However, they are searching for security personnel.
Remember how the NNPC told the public that it has two billion liters of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) on hand, allaying concerns about fuel shortages during the holiday season.
Adeyemi Adetunji, Executive Vice President, Downstream, NNPC Limited, claimed that the company has more than 30 days' worth of petroleum supply on hand.
He claims that in order to shorten the lengthy line, officials are currently monitoring enormous loading from the depot to various locations. He further claims that the NNPC has scheduled trucks and vessels to go to unconstrained depots.
However, an HITUPTV correspondent found that fuel personnel at a NNPC filling station in Abuja's Guzape neighborhood were selling the goods to criminal marketers.
It was discovered that NNPC employees charge illicit marketers N179 per litre, plus an additional N1000 for every 25 liters.
Peter Shima, a driver, expressed regret that sales to black marketers were having an impact on drivers.
According to him, black marketeers near the station sell gasoline for 350 per liter, while NNPC fuel attendants sell it for 179. They charge these black marketers the standard price for their goods, but they add N1000 for each 25-liter jerry can.
A black marketeer who went by the name Musa confirmed this assertion, claiming that he purchases the stuff from a filling station for N300 and resells it for N400 a litre.
"Filling stations now sell to us black marketers for N300, but if you want to buy at the standard cost of N190, you won't be able to.
"We ultimately resell to the public at N350-N400," he claimed.
Our correspondent noted that the price of products and services, as well as transportation, had increased as a result of the ongoing gasoline shortage.
