Nigerians in pains as fuel scarcity bites harder a day to Christmas (Details, pics)

Fuel scarcity worsened on Friday  and Saturday till early hours of Sunday across the country as several motorists and passengers were stranded.

Long queues of motorists persisted at filling stations, leading to gridlock and the unavailability of commercial vehicles on the roads of major cities, including Lagos, Owerri, Ibadan, Abuja, Kaduna and Katsina.

Reporters gathered that as of Friday and Saturday, black marketeers had taken advantage of the situation, selling a litre of petrol at between N200 and N1,000 in several cities across the country.

Several Nigerians told reporters that they were unable to go to their workplaces due to the “terrible” situation.

FCT

In the Federal Capital Territory, many civil servants, who received bank alerts for their December salary late Thursday, did not go to work, but headed to bus stations with the hope of travelling out of the city for Christmas.

But many of them were stranded at the stations as commercial drivers had hiked their fares by about 50 per cent in reaction to the fuel scarcity.

Checks at various bus stations in Abuja indicated that many residents were finding it difficult to get to their destinations due to the non-availability of commercial vehicles, many of which were stuck in queues at filling stations.

Drivers at Utako complained that the fuel scarcity had affected their business and revenues, noting that they spent most of the time they should be working in queues.

A driver, Abdullahi Salman, said they had to hike the fares because they had been buying fuel from the black market at cut-throat prices.

"To get fuel at filling stations, you have to queue for a considerable length of time, so the only way to fill your vehicle’s tank is to buy from the black market at N300 per litre. So we had to adjust the fares accordingly,” he said.

He lamented the impact of the scarcity on travellers and berated the government for not doing enough to address the issue despite several promises by officials.

At Nyanya, travellers going to Benue and Plateau states were sighted at the roadside waiting for vehicles that were not available. A civil servant, Joy Emmanuel, who said her salary was paid on Thursday, stated that as of 3pm on Friday, she had spent five hours at Nyanya looking for a commercial bus going to Jos.

The Secretary, National Union of Road Transport Workers, Mr. Olugbade Olagunju, said it appeared that some people created the fuel scarcity in order to prevent Nigerians from celebrating Christmas.

"It is terrible that Nigerians now face fuel scarcity every December. It is giving us the impression some people do not want Nigerians to celebrate or enjoy Christmas,” Olagunju stated.

Plateau

In Jos, Plateau State capital, motorists kept vigil at the NNPC and other filling stations in a bid to buy petrol. The NNPC mega stations sold the product at N145, while some independent marketers hiked their prices.

Kaduna

In Kaduna, fuel stations owned by the independent marketers remained closed due to non-availability of petrol, while motorists resorted to sleeping at fuel stations where the product was available. The Department of Petroleum Resources said it had sealed over eight filing stations in the state. The Head of Down Stream Monitoring and Operations of the DPR, Alhaji Yahaya Maishera, said the fuel scarcity in the state was as a result of panic
purchase and hoarding by some of the marketers.

Oyo

In Ibadan, Oyo State capital, there were long queues of motorists at a few petrol stations selling fuel, thereby causing gridlock on the major roads. Some motorists, who spoke to one of our correspondents on Friday, said they had spent between two and three days sleeping at fuel stations, where the commodity was sold at the official price of N145.

However, black marketeers sold the product at prices ranging from N200 to N600. Findings revealed that black marketeers at the NNPC, Apata and Sabo areas of the city sold five litres of fuel at between N2,000 (N400 per litre) and N3,000 (N600 per litre), a situation that led to commercial drivers hiking transport fares astronomically, as a journey of about five kilometres that used to cost N200 increased to N400 as of Friday. 

Lagos

The situation was similar in Lagos, the country’s commercial nerve centre, where gridlock was seen on the major roads as a result of long queues at filling stations.

A resident, Chief Perkins Onome, wrote via his Twitter handle @poabaje, that a litre of fuel was being sold for as high as N1,000 by black marketeers in areas like Lekki and Ajah.

"I just witnessed five litres of fuel being sold at N6,000 in some parts of Lekki; five litres at N5,000 in Ajah; and N3,000 in some parts of Mainland. I witnessed these prices today (Friday). Very shocking that people are boldly selling petrol for N1,000 per litre and even higher. And people are buying it!” Onome said.

Another Lagos resident, Abubakar Maigandi, said via his Twitter handle @KauraKaura1 that “I’m lucky to have bought fuel at N400 per litre in Agege.”

A nurse, simply identified as Miss Bunmi, told correspondents that she couldn’t go to work as she was unable to get a commercial bus.

"I stayed at the bus stop for close to three hours but couldn’t get a bus. I had to call my boss, who said I should return home. There were several passengers stranded at the bus stop,” she said.

Rivers

In Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, the fuel scarcity crisis also worsened on Friday, while filling stations sold the product at between N220 and N230 despite threats by the Department of Petroleum Resources to clamp down on fraudulent marketers.

It was observed long queues at filling stations, while motorists and passengers groaned due to the development. 

Imo

A motorist, Peter Amaechina, lamented, “It has not been easy. Filling stations are not selling fuel. Some of them have fuel, but they do not want to sell.  Some of them who are selling are selling at N215 per litre. They are selling at nights to black marketeers.

”Meanwhile, the situation led to the increase of transport fares by around 200 per cent in Owerri, Imo State capital, where a litre of fuel sold at N250 per litre.

Apart from the long queues at various filling stations, It was also observed as passengers and workers trekked long distances to their various destinations.

Long queues of motorists were also seen at the few filling stations selling fuel in Katsina, the Katsina State capital, on Friday. 

Ogun

A drive around the city showed that the few petrol stations selling fuel were not using fuel pumps, with some claiming that their pumps were not working, thereby selling inaccurate quantities to motorists. 

Long queues were also experienced at several filling stations in the major cities of Ogun State, including Abeokuta, Sango-Ota, Ifo and Ijebu Ode.

Due to the situation, commercial vehicle operators increased fares, leading to groaning by commuters travelling on both intra- and intercity routes in the major cities.