Fuel scarcity owing to the importation of adulterated Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, into the country has continued to inflict so much pain on Nigerians as they recount their experience and count their losses, TOPE SUNDAY writes.
Over 100 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, recently imported into the country were found to be adulterated as it containing high methanol quantities above Nigeria’s specification. The adulterated fuel ended up damaging many car engines.
Upon discovering the problem, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) embarked upon an exercise to clean up the contaminated product from the market. It was this cleanup exercise that inevitably caused the scarcity leading to long queues at fuel stations in major cities across the country.
This is as black market traders of the product, who are conveniently found in front of filling stations, also flooded must cities including the FCT.
Fuel crisis ensues
For over two weeks, fuel scarcity has worsened across many cities in the country, just as many Nigerians have had to struggle to go to work and engage in other daily routines.
This development, has led to increased cost of transportation, and many people were left stranded at various bus stops, while others could not foot their bills as a result of the fuel scarcity. This medium gathered that many workers could not resume duty on time, while school pupils and students either got to school late or got stranded on their way home.
As a result of this development, many filling stations were shut, while others were besieged by motorcyclists, tricycle owners, as well as private and commercial drivers thereby causing heavy traffic on the roads.
This medium also gathered that black marketers engaged in brisk business as the black market prices of fuel was hiked to between N4,000 and N7,000 for 10 litres of petrol, which could have been sold for between N1,620 and 1,650 before the scarcity.
Ironically, though the hardship experienced by motorists in Abuja and some of cities across the country occasioned by the scarcity of petrol, as at the time of filing this report, was easing off, there were still queues in most of the filling stations, particularly in Abuja, even as the stations appeared to be rationing the product.
Blueprint Weekend check; however, revealed that some fuel stations did not open due to the non-availability of the product, with many Nigerians asking when the crisis would be over.
Nigerians lament
Narrating his ordeal, a commercial driver, Aina Joseph, who plies Abuja-Lagos route by Sienna bus, confirmed to our correspondent that the development had led to the hike in transportation fare from N8500 to N13,500.
He lamented that most of the drivers have to buy fuel from the back market for as high as N1,000 per litre.
Aina, however, confessed that to cut cost they reportedly bribed some pump attendants at the fuel stations to have their vehicles filled for their journeys. This is as he accused some of fuel stations of adjusting their pumps to short-change Nigerians.
“My trip back to Abuja last Saturday was so hectic because I ran out of fuel but I was saved by the black marketers who sold 10 litre of petrol for me for N10,000 on Lokoja-Abuja Express Way.
“That was my first experience since we started experiencing this fuel scarcity this year. Before, I would go to the fuel station a day to my journey and bribe my way in so I can fill my tank,” the drive stated.
Also speaking to our correspondent on his experience, an Abuja-based business man, who simply identified himself as Chucks, said fuel scarcity elongated his trip from Lagos to Abuja by five hours.
According to him, the driver of the commercial car he boarded at Jibowu in Lagos ran out of fuel and was compelled to spend five hours at a fuel station at Mowe-Ibafo axis of Lagos-Ibadan Express Way while the passenger waited helplessly.
“My last trip to Abuja from Lagos was so horrible because I spent five hours at a fuel station at Mowe-Ibafo axis of Lagos-Ibadan Express Way when our driver ran out of fuel. This was so painful. I arrived Abuja 1:30am last Sunday.
“We took off from Jibowu at 6:30am on Saturday and I had expected that by 7pm or 8pm, we would have arrived Abuja but due to our experience at the fuel station, we arrived so late,” he said.
On his part, a private car owner, Emmy Chinedu, expressed anger and dismay that the adulterated fuel had damaged so many vehicles and suggested that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) should help get justice for the victims.
A resident of Ado-Ekiti, Mr Sunday Ochai, described the situation as frustrating, adding that it had affected business activities in the state.
Similarly, another respondent, Mr Lanre Daramola, accused some marketers of hoarding the product, hence encouraging black marketers to extort the populace.
Also, Mr Saheed Dada, who is resident in Ekiti state, described the scarcity as a hopeless situation for the masses and blamed the state taskforce on petroleum products for its inability to arrest the situation.
He called on security agencies to arrest and prosecute the owners of fuel stations found to be hoarding the product in order to serve as deterrent to others.
“Many of these fuel stations have the product. Are fuel tankers not entering Ekiti on a daily basis? People created the artificial scarcity in order to make more profit.
“Nobody is telling us anything. There is no official statement from any quarter in the state concerning the problem we are experiencing presently,” Dada said.
Another resident, Mrs Ibironke Aluko, expressed sadness over the ugly situation, stating that she had spent almost the whole day at the fuel station without getting the product.
