Fuel Queues Resurface In Abuja As Marketers Shut Down Filling Stations Over Non-Payment Of PEF Claims

Fuel queues on Monday resurfaced in some parts of the Federal Capital Territory following the refusal of many filling stations to dispense Premium Motor Spirit popularly called petrol.

A visit to some of the filling stations in Abuja revealed that many of them remained shut while those that opened to customers were dispensing through just one pump.

It was observed that the decision of the filling stations to dispense through just one pump led to long fuel queues while many motorists battle for the products.

Findings also revealed that the fuel attendants in some of the filling stations that sold PMS with just one pump took advantage of the long queues to impose unnecessary charges on motorists.

For instance, in one of the filling stations in Dutse, a suburb in Abuja, motorists were told that they cannot purchase full tank for their vehicles because of the limited supply of the products.

The fuel attendants claimed that they got instructions from their superiors not to dispense above N3,000 per vehicle so that many motorists could get the product.

But any motorist who is desperate to fill the tank of their vehicles, will be made to part with some cash for the filling station attendants before such will be done.

Depending on the size of the vehicle, the extra cash ranges between N500 and N1,000.

Findings by THE WHISTLER also revealed that many of these filling stations had PMS but refused to dispense the product.

A top government official told this Website that the oil marketers refused to open for business because they are protesting the non-payment of Petrol Equalization Fund claims by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.

There had been fears by members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria that with the commencement of the Petroluem Industry Act which led to the scrapping of the Petroleum Equalization Fund by the federal government, the N42bn PEF claims being owed them might be in jeopardy.

The PEF is the special intervention Fund with the mandate to ensure price uniformity of petroleum products across the country, through the reimbursement of marketers for losses they incur in trucking products from depots to their filling stations anywhere in Nigeria.

But when contacted on how soon will the PEF claims owed oil marketers will be paid, the Spokesperson to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Kimchi Apollo, said he will find out the situation and get back to this Website on Tuesday.