The lingering scarcity of petroleum products in the country which has caused petrol to be sold at between N4,500 and N5,000 per five litres has forced Nigerians to source the product from Cotonou, Benin Republic.
Nigeria, world’s sixth largest oil producer, has been in fuel crisis for more than two weeks.
On Monday, petrol sold for between N4,500 and N5,000 per five litres along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway as black marketers claimed they sourced the product from neighbouring Cotonou which is not an oil producing country.
Hundreds of passengers were stranded at bus stops while vehicle owners groaned under the high price of the products occasioned by the ongoing strike by petroleum marketers.
A petrol hawker, who identified himself as Simpson Samuel, revealed that he bought five litres from Cotonou and resold it for N5,000 in Lagos.
“I purchased this fuel for 800 Cedis a litre, which is equivalent of N3,500.
“We have been at filling stations along this Badagry road, but we did not get fuel. Some of our colleagues directed us to Cotonou and that is where we bought these ones.
“Many people who have also gone there cannot buy because of the rush by our people,’’ Samuel said.
In other parts of Lagos, some black marketers sold between N5,000 and N6, 000.
At a filling station located at Agric bus top, along the Badagry Expressway, fuel was sold for N300 per litre.
Mr Francis Johnson, General Secretary, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN), advised the incoming government to declare a state of emergency in the oil and gas industry.
Johnson attributed the leakages in the nation’s revenue to the importation of refined petroleum products.
He added that the situation was creating jobs for the nations Nigeria was importing the refined product from and causing unemployment for Nigerians.
According to him, the continued importation of refined petroleum products was putting the Naira under pressure and creating social problems for the economy.
He said that there was the need for stakeholders to meet and fashion out a strategy to be adopted in stopping the importation of petroleum products.
The Chairman of Capital Oil, Mr Ifeanyi Uba, had on Sunday promised to release 13 million litres of fuel which amounts to 400 tankers of fuel.
He also promised to release 70 million litres subsequently, while denying knowledge of the ongoing strike by petroleum marketers and tanker drivers.
Uba said it was sad that Nigerians, especially those that provided healthcare service were suffering because of the scarcity.
Meanwhile, banks and other financial institutions have announced that they would close business at 1 p.m. because of the situation.
Telecommunications companies have also announced closure of some of their services from Monday till the situation improves.
Meanwhile, economic and social activities are grinding to a halt in the South-East as the current nationwide energy crisis takes its toll on the residents.
With the pump price of petrol going beyond N200 per litre at filling stations, travel has become unaffordable for the people, particularly the traders in the area.
Intra-city shuttles have also become difficult for the people, especially the workers as bus and taxi fares have doubled in most instances.
In Enugu, the price per litre of petrol hit N200 on Sunday as only independent marketers sold the product while major marketers shut down their filling stations.
Coupled with the non-supply of electricity for four days in most parts of the coal city by the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, it is double jeopardy for the people as they cannot also fuel their generators.
In Nsukka, Enugu State, many commuters were stranded on Monday as very few vehicles were on the roads.
A litre of petrol now sells for between N250 and N300 in the few filling stations that have stock of the product in the town.
Transport fares have also increased by about 70 per cent for inter- and intra-city transportation.
Commuters are now made to cough out N500 for a bus ride to Enugu instead of the previous N300 while those travelling to Lagos now pay N5000 as against N3000.
Similarly within the town, from Old Park to UNN now costs N80 as against N50.
Some of the commuters said that the situation would soon get out of hand if nothing was done by the government.
In Owerri, the scarcity of the product has also resulted in increased transportation fares across the state.
Investigation in Owerri on Monday showed that a litre of petrol now sells for between N140 and N200 in Owerri, Amakohia, Irete, Obinze and Emekuku, all suburbs of the Imo capital.
Some filling stations in the area sold at N140 per litre, some at N160 and yet some others at N200.
Most filling stations, especially the major oil marketers, were locked up with the inscription `no petrol, diesel and kerosene’ boldly displayed.
Chikadibia Ndubuisi, a commercial tricycle rider, said that the scarcity and hike in the pump price of petrol had also pushed up the fare charged by commercial motorists.
“Before, we collected N70 from Owerri to Ekemegbuoha in Uratta, but now it is N150 while those going to Amakohia now also pay N150 as against N70 and N100, depending on the distance,’’ he said.
A member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers at Okigwe Road Motor Park, who pleaded anonymity, said that transportation fare in all parts of the state had gone up since Saturday due to the scarcity of petrol.
“Since Saturday, drivers plying all the routes in Imo complained of scarcity and hike in the pump price of petrol and as a result, they hiked the fares to enable them make up,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, residents of Abakaliki have called on the Federal Government to urgently address the lingering fuel scarcity plaguing the nation.
A cross section of the residents said in Abakaliki on Monday that the situation had brought untold hardship to the citizens.
The residents decried the scarcity, saying that the situation called for immediate solution.
Mr Michael Elom, a civil servant, said the scarcity had paralysed socio-economic activities in the country.
According to him, the situation has forced many motorists to abandon their vehicles and trek to work and other businesses.
“The situation is a national embarrassment and I expect the outgoing administration to do something about it,’’ Elom said.
A commercial driver, Mr Ignatius Igbo, said he bought the petrol at N400 a litre from a hawker and had to increase the transport fare to be in business.
Igbo said that unless the government took urgent and decisive action in tackling the problem, the masses would continue to suffer.
A lawyer, Mr Clement Ebenyi, described the lingering scarcity as `a monumental national disaster’.
He urged the Federal Government to revive the comatose oil refineries as well as diversify the economy as measures to solve the problem.
In Ebonyi State, most filling stations in Abakaliki, the state capital, were not dispensing the product due to non-availability while the few that had the product sold at between N200 and N230 per litre.
In Oyo State, authorities of the University of Ibadan (UI) on Monday asked its students to vacate the premises immediately, pending the time the problem of shortage of water and electricity would be addressed.
The directive was issued to students following an advice given by the Committee of Provosts and Deans to the university’s management.
The Director of Communication of the institution, Mr Muhammed Oladejo, who confirmed the development, said the management only asked the students to proceed on a two-week mid-semester break.
Students of Independence Hall of the institution had in the early hours of Monday staged a protest.
The students complained that they were facing hard time as a result of shortage of water and electricity.
An official of the university said: “The mid-semester break was declared as a result of power outage.
“The outage is also affecting other services on campus, especially water and electricity supply.
“The committee advised the management on the step taken to avert problems as witnessed recently.
“The mid-semester break will take two weeks. The students living at Independence Hall lodged a complaint and the school authorities decided to take immediate action”.
