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Nigerians still in pain as fuel scarcity bites on

As fuel crisis which started days back is yet to abate, Nigerians are still finding it difficult to cope with the ugly situation as a litre of petrol is still being sold at the rate of N200 or more as against the official price of N145, encomium.ng can authoritatively reveal.  Not only that, the product is only available in a couple of filling stations across the major cities in the country, including Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Ibadan and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, among others, making it difficult for motorists to get it on demand.

In Lagos and its environs, encomium.ng’s checks revealed that only a few filling stations, including the National Petroleum Corporation of Nigeria (NNPC), Conoil, Mobil, Forte Oil and a few others sell at the official rate now,  but some of the attendants in these stations charge at least N200 extra on a  25 or 50-litre keg.

Few commuters and commercial drivers encomium.ng spoke to expressed pains and discomfort on the ongoing fuel scarcity. They, however, hope that the issue will soon be resolved.

According to Lawal Ajeigbe, “I believe in what the Qur’an says that after difficulty comes ease. So, this is just a moment again in our lives as Nigerians. Though very difficult, I believe we will soon come out of it. Some are only interested in sabotaging Buhari’s efforts to stabilise the country. I believe one day, the long arm of the law will catch up with those behind the sabotage.How can we be buying a litre of fuel for N250 as against the official rate of N145? That’s unfair.The suffering is just too much.  The government must find a way around the situation and ensure normalcy returns before 2018 which is just a few days to go.

A commercial driver along Fagba-Ogba route, Moses, a k a pastor, also lamented,” The price of fuel is yet to come down. We’re still buying at the rate of N200 or N235 per litre depending on the filling station. Even, as at today, only one filling station opened for business in this route, and a litre is sold for N200. Not only that, you must add a little amount as bribe before the attendants can attend to you unless you’re not in need of it urgently. So, the situation is still very unbearable for us as commercial drivers, but the passengers don’t really want to reason with us at times. They expect us to maintain the regular fare before the scarcity which won’t be profitable for us. We only hope that the whole thing is sorted out this year. We can’t continue in this mess.”

Also, Modupe Adeoba, a commuter groaned, “It’s not been easy since the fuel crisis started. Initially, we all thought it was a joke. Now,we’re facing the reality of it. Most people now trek more than before because of the hike in transport money.The situation in the country before was very harsh. Now, the fuel issue has worsened it. I pray the whole thing is resolved before the end of this year because by January, schools will resume for the second term. If the situation still remains the same, children will find it difficult getting to their various  schools as well as workers across the country getting to their places of workers.”

 

  • TADE ASIFAT

 

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