Economy
By Kennedy Nnamani
PETROL scarcity has continued to disrupt various economic activities in the country in spite of the various promises by the federal government to make petrol available in the market. However, the continued scarcity of this product still plagues the nation.
Long queues resurfaced in petrol stations mostly Abuja and Lagos following the withdrawal of the purported adulterated petrol from the market.
This product scarcity which the public had expected to be over within a very short time has begun to be a thing of worry as every aspect of the nation’s economy is being affected.
As at February 16, some fuel stations in Lagos still sell at N163 per liter while some sell at N175.
Consequently, private and commercial vehicle owners as well as motor cycle operators lament the hardship created by this petrol scarcity.
According to Kunle Adenike, a tricyclist, who told Realnews that he bought petrol for N175 at a fuel station in Agege, lamented the hardship that the scarcity has inflicted on the masses.
“I went to a filling station at Agege last night and spent more than 3 hours and still had to pay a token of N200 before I could gain access to buy fuel and they still sold it at N175 per liter,” he said.
Maxwell Eneja, a commercial bus driver, also lamented that he waited for over 2 hours before he could get to buy fuel from where he called “always available” in Ogba. He also said that he had to tip the gatekeepers with N500 before he could be allowed into the filling station.
“I have never gone to that filling station in Ogba and stayed for more than 5 minutes, but this time I had to queue up for more than 2 hours and still had to pay bribe before I could buy fuel. Although they are still selling cheap at the approved price,” Eneja said.
The ripple effect of this petrol scarcity is the return of ‘black’ market operators. Realnews gathered that in Abuja, black marketers sell I litre of petrol for N550 and N600 around Gwagwalada/Zuba axis.
In Katsina, it was reported that the product was on Monday sold for N750 and N800 per liter.
Meanwhile, just as the situation hits harder on public transport operators, commuters also are not left behind as they are now paying higher fares.
Daniel Dauda, a civil servant, told Realnews that the poor masses are going unnecessary hardship as a result of the scarcity of petrol. He noted that the situation still lingers because those who cause this scarcity are not directly being affected by it.
“I do not blame our policymaker because the system has made everything available for them so they don’t have to feel what we feel. This morning, I came out to go to work with the same amount as usual only to discover that the transport fare has doubled.
“I wish the government would look with pity and do the needful before things get out of hand,” he said.
Earlier, on Tuesday, February 15, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Ltd had announced that it was flooding the market with over 2.3 billion litres of petrol until this month end to ease the fuel queues nationwide. It also noted that adequate measures had been put in place to accelerate nationwide distribution of petrol earlier disrupted by the quarantine of methanol-blended petrol, noting that it has over one billion litres of certified petrol in stock that is safe for use in vehicles and machineries.
The scarcity of petrol in the country attracts higher food prices and high transport fares since the product is needed to run vehicles for transportation of persons, food and other essential products and above all it is needed to power generators in a country with a history of inefficient power supply and ailing refineries.
KN
Tags: Daniel Dauda Kennedy Nnamani Kunle Adenike Maxwell Eneja NNPC
