Fuel marketers have resumed loading petrol and diesel from private depots after an almost one-week disruption triggered by recent price adjustments in the downstream petroleum sector.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Ukadike, told The PUNCH on Tuesday that private depots had resumed selling petroleum products to marketers, dismissing fears of an imminent fuel scarcity.
Although some filling stations did not dispense petrol on Monday and Tuesday, Ukadike said marketers were only being cautious because of the prevailing volatility in fuel prices, particularly amid the ongoing Middle East crisis.
He explained that depot owners temporarily suspended loading operations to adjust prices and request top-up payments from marketers who had already paid for products before the latest price increase. Ukadike, however, noted that depot owners do not refund marketers when prices fall below the amount previously paid for products.