The fuel queues are back in Lagos and other major cities in Nigeria. The people, in the last two weeks, heaved a sigh of relief after going through protracted fuel scarcity, with a litre of petrol selling for as high as N350 in some cities. But that comfort has evaporated.
A source close to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation told TheNEWS this morning that the fuel marketers “are reacting to the report making the rounds that the Federal Government is about to come out with some major policy decisions in the oil sector.”
What the policy decisions are, they do not know: subsidy removal or restoration? Privatisation or not?
For this reason, the queues are back, many fuel stations are closed. The few that are selling do so at N150 or more per litre.
TheNEWS learnt that government is at the verge of deregulating the only petroleum product that it has kept controlling.
But recent trends, the reality that it will spend close to N13 subsiding every litre of petrol consumed in the country or even diverted out of it by hyper-profit seeking marketers and drivers, has made government to wake up to the reality that something must be done urgently.
Government officials have been in consultation with all manners of stakeholders, including the media and labour about this development.
The announcement of the policy change is imminent, TheNEWS was told.