Niger faces a fuel shortage, causing long queues and disruptions. Residents struggle with rationing, lack of transparency, and economic impact. Authorities plan to increase fuel supply, while calls grow to reopen borders for imports.

For nearly a week, service stations in Niger have struggled to supply enough premium fuel to meet local demand. As a result, long queues of cars and motorbikes have formed at the few stations that still have fuel available.

The Niger Petroleum Company, SONIDEP, has introduced fuel rationing, but many residents argue that this measure has not alleviated the difficulties they face in their daily routines.

Moussa Kassou, a motorist in Niamey, describes the frustration of searching for fuel. After driving to the Boukoki quarter of the capital, he was informed there was none available. Later, he received a call directing him to Wadata, where someone had a litre of petrol. “To get two or three litres, you end up wasting a litre and a half—it’s a nightmare,” he says.

A fuel shortage is an unusual situation in Niger, a country rich in oil resources. Since the establishment of its first refinery in 2011, domestic production has struggled to meet the national fuel demand, which exceeds two million litres per day.

Concerns have arisen over transparency in fuel management. Some residents feel that authorities have not provided sufficient information on the issue.

“We are in the dark because the authorities, who are supposed to explain the situation, are not doing so. We don’t have any real information,” says Niamey resident Assoumane Hamadou Souley.

While SONIDEP attributes the crisis to a stock shortage, transport operators—who are among the most affected—dismiss this explanation. Many are losing customers due to the limited fuel supply.

The Taxi and Urban Transport Drivers' Union (SYNCTAXITU) has urged the government to take immediate steps to increase daily fuel production to meet growing demand.

"We believe the state must step up production. We are told that 25 fuel trucks are allocated for Niamey, but that is simply not enough," says SYNCTAXITU General Secretary Agali Ibrahim.

"Now that oil smuggling has been curbed, everyone is relying solely on the official fuel stations. With so many people depending on the pumps, the current supply cannot meet the demand."

Authorities have announced plans to increase the number of tanker trucks supplying the capital from 24 to 100 per day.

Meanwhile, various organizations are calling on the government to reopen borders with Benin and Nigeria to allow temporary fuel imports and ease the crisis.