According to a report via the BBC, banks in Nigeria have cut opening times, flights have been cancelled, and telecom operators are now looking at restricting services as Nigeria faces a fuel crisis.
According to the report, the party of President-elect Muhammadu Buhari has accused the outgoing government of “sabotage” for failing to deal with the crisis.
The report also reveals that wholesale fuel distributors have been withholding petrol as they say they are owed 1 Billion USD by the government.
According to the BBC report, the shortage means that Africa’s biggest economy is slowly grinding to a halt.
To add to Nigeria’s woes, MTN, Airtel, and Etisalat have warned that scarcity of fuel could potentially disrupt services as they are unable to secure diesel to power their base stations.
According to a statement issued by MTN Nigeria’s Akinwale Goodluck: “MTN’s available reserves of diesel are running low and the company must source a significant quantity of diesel in the very near future to prevent a shutdown of services across Nigeria.”
According to pulse.ng, Airtel had sent out messages via SMS to its users to expect “some strain” on its services.
The message reads; “Dear valued customers, this is to inform you that due to nationwide fuel crisis our services may experience some strain. We are doing everything possible to manage the situation. Thank you for understanding.”
With Nigeria facing an imminent crisis, many have taken to social media to voice their opinions and concerns.
Major fuel shortage in Nigeria. How does a country with the largest Oil reserves on the continent run out of petrol?
— AKA (@akaworldwide) May 25, 2015
There shouldn’t be Fuel Scarcity in a place where Fuel Comes From… #Nigeria #Africa pic.twitter.com/TIq3L2alnu
— Attorney Simret Zeru (@SimretZeru) May 24, 2015
My little Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as Nigerian to other Nigerians around me…#FuelScarcity pic.twitter.com/ukFAcHMlWI
— Folusho Awosanya (@FolushoSpeaks) May 25, 2015
Am staying @ home n getting to know my neighbors better @omojuwa: How is the #FuelScarcity and power outage affecting you?”
— Phunicator (@Phranknigel) May 25, 2015
At my office this afternoon: generator out, laptops closed, foot lifted across the table. Productivity on the decline. #FuelScarcity
— AYO SOGUNRO (@ayosogunro) May 25, 2015
This is such a sad, painful and mentally draining situation!…Lord have mercy! #fuelscarcity
— Veronica Onuchi (@VeronicaOnuchi) May 25, 2015
So, who is ready to SERIOUSLY start reducing our country’s oil dependency now? Or are we still in denial about that? #FuelScarcity
— Andre Blaze Henshaw (@AndreBlaze) May 25, 2015
Every Nigerian is forced to be economist, analyst, auditor and overseer. One simply can’t leave governance to the government. #FuelScarcity
— AYO SOGUNRO (@ayosogunro) May 25, 2015
#Nigeria #FuelScarcity photo. It’s not even funny at all! pic.twitter.com/GVjagz6wlg
— Kayode Ogundamisi (@ogundamisi) May 24, 2015
Darryl Linington
