SOCIO-economic activities were disrupted yesterday in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, owing to the scarcity of petroleum products.

The scarcity of the products also hit Lagos and its environs, as motorists were seen queuing for fuel at various filling stations.

Many filling stations in the FCT were still locked while the few that had fuel were besieged by motorists, causing long queues and obstructing free flow of traffic.

Although the real cause of the scarcity was difficult to be ascertained, stakeholders, including the major, independent marketers and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) traded blame as to why the problem persisted.

The scarcity has begun to take a toll on the commuters in the city, as many of them were seen stranded at various bus stops, while the cost of transportation shut up by about 30 per cent.

In Lagos, the fuel scarcity was worsened by the threats of petroleum tanker drivers to down tools in protest over bad roads and other contractual agreements, which they said the government had not fulfilled.

Among the stations visited by The Guardian in Abuja were Total and Conoil in the central district opposite NNPC Secretariat, Texaco at Banex junction, Wuse II, Oando, Mobil African Petroleum and some independent filling stations.

In Lagos, long queues were seen at the NNPC mega station in Ikoyi yesterday, with a lot of motorists waiting endlessly to purchase fuel.

But the Minister of State for Petroleum, Odein Ajumogobia, assured that the Federal Government would do everything possible to ensure that fuel supply eases in the metropolis.

He assured that the ministry was working with the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to ensure that the problem was tackled headlong.

The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs of the NNPC, Levi Ajuonuma, in a statement made available to The Guardian yesterday, said the NNPC was not responsible for the fuel queues in Lagos and Abuja.

He said the corporation fuel supply chain under the jurisdiction of the Petroleum Pipeline Marketing Company (PPMC) remained robust with enough products that could sustain the market till the end of the year.

Also, the Secretary of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), Suleja depot branch, Alhaji Aliyu Abdullahi, said that though the national headquarters of National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) directed them to stop loading at the depot since November 24, 2009, the Sallah break did not allow the directive to take effect and that it could only be carried out on Monday.

He, however, said that the national headquarters had directed the branch to resume loading, adding that loading activities was resumed at about 12 noon yesterday.

The Suleja Depot Manager, Mallam Ahmad Gwarzo, stated that there was indeed product and that 110 tankers loaded with products were ready to discharge at petrol stations before the order came from NUPENG to them to suspend loading.

Meanwhile, crude oil supply from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rose to its highest this year, thanks to the increased oil production from the Nigeria.

The nation's oil production, which was specifically boosted with the gradual restoration of peace in the oil producing Niger Delta region reportedly hit about 2.4 million barrels per day (bpd) recently.

This represents a significant increase of about 60,000 bpd in the last three months, when the country's oil output had experienced a record low of 1.7 million bpd as a result of the issue of insecurity in the Niger Delta.

According to industry survey, other countries that had relevant impact in the risen oil supply from the cartel were United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.