Nigerians groan as fuel scarcity bites harder in Northern states

As petrol scarcity bites harder across Nigeria, motorists in Kaduna, Kano and Katsina states are paying through their noses to get the now scarce commodity.

Checks by correspondents of the News Agency of Nigeria in the three states revealed harrowing experiences of innocent citizens.

NAN also gathered that most of the major and independent marketers had since closed their filling stations.

Also, the few ones that were operating had jerked up the price of the commodity to between N800 to N1000, aggravating the already precarious situation.

Similarly, it was observed that petrol black marketers, especially the roadside fuel hawkers were having a field day, with a 4-litre gallon going for between N5000 to N6000.

A cross-section of the motorists interviewed told NAN, ”We are very dismayed as the obnoxious situation has negatively affected our activities.”

A civil servant, Salisu Baso, lamented that he had to pay double the transport fare he was hitherto paying to reach his office at the Federal Secretariat, Kawo-Kaduna.

Baso said, ”We don’t even know who is right now. Is it the government or the marketers? It is very unfortunate that they are just passing the buck.

”But, in whatever case, urgent action should be taken to redress the ugly situation that is jeopardising socio-economic activities in the country.”

For Mrs Franscisca Idika, a trader at the Chechnya market in Kaduna, the lingering petrol scarcity and the soaring prices have badly affected their businesses.

She said,” I have to pay more now to reach the market and we just have to increase the prices of our wares to break even.”

Reports from Kano and Katsina states also revealed a similar disheartening situation of higher prices and endless queues in the few filling stations operating.

Mr Alao Jaremi, an IT expert in Katsina called on the authorities concerned to take urgent measures to ensure the availability of petrol across the country.

”We need the government to swing into action and do the needful to alleviate the suffering of the hapless Nigerians,” Malam Ibrahim Dan-Musa told NAN in Kano.

As the scarcity persists, NNPCL and the oil marketers have been shifting the blame to the real causes of the paucity of the commodity.

NNPCL was insisting that the long queues across Nigeria were a result of disruption of the ship-to-ship loading of petrol between Mother Vessels and Daughter Vessels, adding, ” This resulted from a recent thunderstorm.”

The national oil company said that adverse weather conditions had also affected berthing at jetties and truck load-outs transportation of products to filling stations, causing a disruption in station supply logistics.

The marketers, however, maintained that they were unable to access the NNPCCL portal to place orders  for the commodity.

NAN.