At the weekend, the long petrol queues in Abuja appeared to have shortened in several parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), although a number of filling stations were still shut. Some continued to sell for as much as between N700 and N800. But on the outskirts of town, some stations were still selling the product for as high as N950 since the product had yet to fully circulate. There had been biting scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol in Abuja for over a month, which later extended to more states of the federation, with the product selling for over N1,000 in some places before now. Although in Abuja, the long stretches which had disrupted commercial and social activities were reducing, however, neighbouring states like Kaduna, Kano, Niger, Nasarawa, had yet to experience similar relief. The Conoil and Total filling stations opposite the NNPC headquarters in Abuja had shorter queues compared to earlier in the week when THISDAY visited. At the NNPC mega station in Zone 1 and the one opposite GSM village, the long lines which dominated most of the roads around the area, had begun to shrink. The NNPC was still selling for its subsidised rate of N617 per litre as of yesterday evening.

THISDAY