THE ongoing fuel scarcity crisis rocking the country is gradually taking it tolls on cost of transportation as prices charged by commercial drivers is on the increase across the country following the hike in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, in fillings stations in states.
Motorists still besieged the few filling stations that dispensed PMS in Abuja and neighbouring Nasarawa and Niger states on Tuesday, as many outlets in Nasarawa and other states sold the commodity at N200/litre and above.
This was in contrast to the Federal Government’s approved pump price of N162-N165/litre. In Abuja, black marketers freely sold petrol at N400/litre and above.
The National Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chief Ukadike Chinedu, told one of our correspondents that the price of petrol in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, was above N200/litre in filling stations.
“The queues in Port Harcourt are clearing out and filling stations sell at N200 and above for a litre of petrol,” he said.
In Ilorin, Kwara State, the transportation situation grew worse on Tuesday, as petrol scarcity continued.
Many petrol stations locked their gates, as only a few outlets, such as Bovas and the NNPC dispensed petrol to motorists at the approved price of N162/litre amidst long queues.
Findings showed that fuel was being sold at between N350 to N500/litre in some independent petrol stations.
As a result of the fuel scarcity, transport fares increased by more than 300 per cent for both inter and intra-city transport.
In the Ilorin metropolis, commercial vehicles charged between N150 and N300 for short-distance trips, instead of the N50 that was previously charged.
Inter-city fares from Ilorin to Offa and Omu-Aran rose to between N800 to N1,500, instead of N300 and N800 as was previously charged.
In Ondo State, fuel was sold for N200 per litre at the black market level which thrived better late in the evening or at midnight.
During visits to some of the filling stations in Akure, the state capital, it was observed that the stations that dispensed petrol during the day, sold the commodity at the approved N165/litre price.
Meanwhile, the queues persisted in many filling stations as the scarcity of petrol continued on Tuesday.
In Osogbo, the Osun State capital, some residents exploited the situation as they sold petrol at between N250 and N300/litre to motorists.
In a few of the filling stations that sold the product, there were long queues of vehicles and motorcycles waiting to get the PMS.
Many residents also bought the product in plastic containers, while black marketers were sighted along Station Road and Dele Yes Sir Area of Osogbo on Tuesday.
Similarly, petrol scarcity grew worse in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, on Tuesday, as the product sold for as high as N300/litre.
At the pumps, the product went for between N162 and N250/litre on Tuesday depending on the ownership of the station. Black market operators sold it at N300/litre.
At the NNPC outlet and Bovas Petroleum along Bank Road where the product sold for N162/litre, the queues of vehicles and motorbikes were endless.
It was the same situation at the NNPC outlet along Iyin Road in the capital city where the product was sold at N165/litre.
Nigeria Standard gathered that In Enugu State, fuel was sold in a few stations owned by independent marketers at between N200 and N220/litre, while major marketers sold the product for N165 and N189/litre.
One of our correspondents, who monitored the development in Enugu State metropolis, reported that only North-West and Mobil dispensed the product to motorists on Tuesday.
