Transport fare skyrockets, commuters stranded as fuel queues persist

The price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol hit N700 per litre in Abuja, yesterday, even as residents have described the protracted scarcity as a worse-than-hell-experience.

From Kubwa to Wuse, Maitama to Asokoro, most of the filling stations had ran out of fuel while the few that sold had long queues. At bus stops, scores of commuters were stranded as fewer commercial vehiclesplied the roads.

The scarcity also forced Bolt and Uber hailing cabs to cancel their booking even as transport fares rose significantly due to demand outpacing supply. Cost of transport from Kubwa to Wuse jumped from N200 to N350.

A taxi driver, David Adams, told Daily Sun that most filling stations preferred to sell between midnight and 4am to enable them sell at  black market rates.  

“I bought petrol somewhere in Zone 4 around 3am. I slept there actually. The situation is worse than last week,” he said.

Marcus Anaga, another taxi driver said: “Right now, we call each other to know the filling station to go and sleep to get petrol.”

Other residents who spoke with Daily Sun regretted that the scarcity has  disrupted economic and social activities and made the FCT chaotic. They queried why the scarcity has persisted despite assurances from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), oil marketers and other stakeholders that the trend would ease.

They also queried  the veracity of NNPC’s claims of injecting 3.2 billion litres of petrol into the domestic market saying rather than have petrol to buy, filling stations in the FCT were either empty or flooded with thousands of frustrated consumers queuing endlessly to buy petrol.

It was observed that black market price of petrol that was hitherto N400 per litre earlier in the week had jumped to N700 even as motorists were forced to part with  N500 tip for a jerrycan before petrol attendants were allowed to sell to them. 

A black market dealer who identified himself as Aliyu said: “I buy petrol for N300 a litre from the pump and sell at N700 per litre. I’m making good sales. The scarcity is good.”

Mohammed, another black market operator, said products were available as from  midnight.

“I buy at night, around 2am. When day breaks, I sell to rich men and women who don’t have time to queue at filling stations. I sell 10 litres for N6,500.”

Daily Sun observed that most of the petrol tankers have been parked at various filling stations for days without product to discharge.

The scarcity  has badly impacted small and medium enterprises who rely on petrol generators to run their businesses.

Some supermarket owners in Abuja  lamented that frozen foods in their freezers were defrosting and losing freshness due to lack of  petrol to power their generators.

“Diesel is now N400 per litre, petrol price is worse, electricity is not stable. I dare not refuse to run my diesel and petrol generators if I want to remain in business. The chicken and ice cream sections are delicate. They can easily melt and decay. This is hell,” Mrs Ajani of CKD Supermarket in Kubwa lamented.

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