Economy

MOTORISTS in Katsina State say the experience of intense scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), known as petrol across the state, is taking a negative turn on their businesses.

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), attributed the situation to the delay in the transportation of the commodity due to recent flooding that affected major roads linking to the Northern parts of the country.

A statement by the IPMAN Chairman, Northern Nigeria, Alhaji Bashir Danmalam, said trucks loaded with the products were expected to supply products in Abuja and other parts of the country soon.

The statement therefore urged Nigerians to exercise patience as measures were been intensified to restore normal supply across the country.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that only the NNPC Mega station on Kano road and Jibiya road are selling the product at the approved price while others sell from N185 and above.

The filling stations were charactrised by long queues, where motorists passed the night there or spent several hours before refilling their vehicles.

NAN also observed that most of the gas stations in the state capital remained closed, with the exception of few ones selling the product at exorbitant prices while amidst long qeues.

Other filling stations outside the state capital sold the product at N240 per litre and above, depending on the area.

The situation gave black marketers an opportunity of having a field day where a four-litre gallon of petrol cost N2,000 and above even in Katsina metropolis.

Malam Aliyu Mustapha, a motorist, complained of how the situation had affected the socioeconomic activities in the state.

Mustapha, therefore, urged the government and relevant authorities to hasten taking measures that would address the problem.

Alhaji Tukur Abdullahi, said that he parked his car because of the problem as he could not afford to buy fuel at over N2,000 per four litres gallon.

“Whenever there is such problem, masses are at the receiving end; it is not that most of these filling stations don’t have petroleum in their stock.

“Some of the marketers are using the situation to maximise profit at the detriment of the masses, which is very unfortunate.

“Government should sanction such filling stations found wanting, to serve as deterrent to others,” he said. (NAN)

KN

Tags: Alhaji Bashir Danmalam Alhaji Tukur Abdullahi IPMAN Malam Aliyu Mustapha