Motorists groan as fuel price regime collapses
As on-going fuel scarcity continues to bite harder, reports from across the country on Wednesday showed that the approved price regime of N86.50 per litre has collapsed with most filling stations selling the product far above the official pump price. This is even as the scarcity has begun to take toll on socio-economic activities in Abuja, the nation’s capital, Lagos and most states. In Abuja, the nation’s capital, a litre of the product on Wednesday sold for between N200-N250 in some filling stations outside the NNPC mega station and a few others.
In Lagos, the nation’s commercial nerve centre, a litre of the product was sold for between N130 – N150 per litre in few filling stations that had fuel outside the NNPC Mega stations. In Imo State, a litre of the product sold for between N150 -N200 depending on the locations in the state. A litre of the product sold for between N250-N300 in Umuahia, the Abia State capital on Wednesday. The Daily Times correspondent in Enugu reports that few petrol stations that had the product sold it for between N170 – N200 per litre. Attendants at Total filling station on Airport road, Benin City, Edo State on Wednesday dispensed the product at N150 per litre, while the only filling station that sold fuel on Upper Mission road, Benin, dispensed at N180 per litre.
The product was sold between N170 and N400 per litre in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Wednesday. In Akure, the Ondo State capital, a litre of petrol was sells for between N170-N200 depending on the location of the filling station and hours of the day In Onitsha, the commercial city of Anambra State, on Wednesday, a litre of fuel was sold at between N160-N170 while a 4 litre gallon of the product was sold between N800-N850 at the black market in Yola, the Adamawa State capital with most filling stations not dispensing the product.
Only NNPC Mega filling stations in Yola sold the product at the official pump price of N86 per litre. A drive round the Abuja, the nation’s capital, on Wednesday, showed that only a very few filling stations had the product to sell. These stations include the NNPC mega station in new Wuse, Conoil in Central Business District, CBD, opposite NNPC headquarters, Total Filling stations in CBD and Garki Area 3 among others. There were long queues of vehicles in these few stations that have fuel with motorists spending almost a day or two before getting the product. Most motorists have now resulted to keeping vigil in these stations.
The scarcity has however forced several motorists to start patronising some mushroom filling stations in the environs where a litre of fuel sells for between N200 and N250. Road side hawkers of petrol have taken over most areas in Abuja and sell ten litres for between N2, 500 and N3, 000. This has consequently led to an almost one hundred percent hike in transport fare by the few commercial vehicles on roads. Several commuters were seen in various bus stops on Wednesday, with some spending hours before getting vehicles to their destinations. The scarcity has equally started taking its toll on government activities as most workers now find it difficult to get to their offices.
Some others manage to spend one or two hours in their offices before going to queue in filling stations to buy fuel. The scarcity of the product in virtually all filling stations in Owerri, the Imo State capital and its environs has grounded economic activities in the state. There was no fuel on Wednesday in all major marketers’ filling stations in the state. Few filling stations operating in the state sold fuel between N150 to N200 per litre depending on the locations in the state. Both the transport fares and good stuffs have doubled by 200 percent. In Umuahia, the Abia state capital, a litre of fuel sells for N250 and N300. Residents of Enugu, the Coal City and its environs are at the present groaning over scarcity of petrol.
More worrisome is the fact that the products is hard to come by at major filling stations in the state while the few ones that have supplies sell at exorbitant prices. Daily Times observed that petrol stations with the products sell between N170 – N200 as against the official pump price. As a result of the scarcity, long queues have returned to the Coal City in spite of the high price. Residents are now feeling the heat as transport fare has increased while some motorists especially private car owners, have parked waiting for the return to normalcy. Enugu State chairman of the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Chief Ikechukwu Nwankwo, told the Daily Times that even station owners are lamenting because they are being pushed out of business.
He added that it is even difficult for them to procure the products. In Ondo State, consumers of the product now finding it difficult to bear with the high price a litre of fuel is sold. The Daily Times gathered on Wednesday that the residents among which were motorists and fuel consumers now passed through serious challenges in getting the product for their daily consumption. In Akure, the Ondo State capital, a litre of petrol is now sold between N170 and N200 depending on the location of the filling station and hours of the day. The situation has been forcing many residents of the state mostly commercial motorcycles and taxi drivers to wait on long queues in getting the product at all cost for their daily business.
A commercial motorcyclist based in Akure, Bayo Akingbade, who complained bitterly to our correspondent, over the negative effect of the scarcity and price to his transport business, also decried the shortage of the product at the filling stations in the state capital. Investigation further revealed that some filling station that had the product in stock now hoard it and sell at exorbitant rate at the dead of the night for motorists who traveled long journey.
The Daily Times can authoritatively report that the situation has further forced die-hard residents to source for the product at the outskirt of the city in a bid to overcome challenges of scarcity in the main city of Akure. Independent sources who spoke to the Daily Times on the telephone said the situation is currently the same in Ore, Okitipupa, Owo, Owena, Akoko, and Ondo town where the product is rarely available for consumption. “It is even worse in Ore because the product is rarely available and people travel to border town of Ogun state to get the product for their consumption. “I know if the situation persist, cost of transportation and goods would increase. Already, I learnt Ondo to Lagos is now N2000 which means other parts of the country would be costlier than this,” one of the sources said. In Edo State, aside from NNPC Mega filling station on Sapele, Benin City that sells fuel at the official price, no other filling station in Benin sells at that price.
The queue at the NNPC Mega filling station on Wednesday was indescribable as motorists in anger ensured the road was not passable for other road users. When this reporter visited Total filling station on Airport road Benin on Wednesday, the attendants were dispensing fuel at N150 per litre, while the only filling station that sold the product on Upper Mission road, Benin, dispensed at N180 per litre. Others simply locked up their stations with a sign telling motorists ‘No fuel.’ At most of the stations visited, most of the motorists were seen hauling curses on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government while describing the Change mantra as a fraud.
The pangs of fuel scarcity continue to bite harder in Oyo State as the Premium Motor Spirit PMS is being sold between N170 and N400 per litre. In Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, about 95 percent of the filling stations on Wednesday did not sell fuel as they claimed they do not have while those with fuel (mostly independent marketers) sold at rate higher that the approved pump price. Major roads in Ibadan were not as busy as it used to be and passengers including civil servants and market women are stranded at bus stops in Ibadan.
Also, the price of transport was increased by double as motorists complained of difficulties encountered in getting fuel and how they buy at exorbitant rate. The fuel situation in the commercial town of Onitsha, Anambra State took a very difficult and painful dimension on Wednesday. At Total filling station on Old Market road, Onitsha, some motorists who formed a long queue as early as 7.30 in the morning only had the opportunity of being attended to after 3-4 hours on the queue. This is because it is one of the few filling stations that sold fuel at government approved pump price.
At Dwell filling station located at Upper New Market road, Onitsha, the product was sold between N160-N170 per litre while at Venee Oil filling station located along Enugu, Onitsha sold N150-N160. Residents of Yola, the Adamawa State capital on Wednesday had a nasty experience sourcing for fuel with many decrying Federal Government’s failure to address the scarcity of the product. A 4 litre gallon of petrol was sold between N800-N850 at the black market while only NNPC Mega filling stations sold the product at the official pump price of 86 per litre. Meanwhile, the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) on Wednesday assured that normalcy would soon return to filling states nationwide if the current tempo of loading at the depots continued till the weekend.
