Commuters in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, and other cities across the country have bemoaned the hike in transportation fares owing to the current fuel scarcity.
HMTV reports that queues have worsened in many filling stations across the country, with Abuja as one of the worst hit areas.
While some motorists were lucky to get fuel at some retail outlets for between N700 and N,1200 per litre after hours of squabbles, others were not so lucky as many retail outlets were shut, with their excuses being supply challenges.
Findings by HMTV revealed that the snake-like queues at a few filling stations in Abuja have worsened the traffic situation in the nation’s capital and its outskirts as the long queues spilt on major roads, hindering movements, just as thousands of people were stranded at bus stops with transport fares as high as double the former amounts.
Although many outlets owned by independent oil marketers remained shut, HMTV gathered that NNPC retail outlets sell petrol at N617 per litre.
Some motorists told HMTV that they had to painstakingly endure the unending queues and jostling for sometimes six hours.
HMTV gathered that the shortage of the premium product saw the black marketers selling the petrol for as high as N1,200 per litre in some areas of the FCT and its outskirts.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, has threatened to embark on mass action if the Federal Government failed to take immediate steps to address the current fuel scarcity in the country.
The association’s Senate President, Babatunde Akinteye, in a statement on Monday, lamented that the fuel scarcity has left many citizens, including students, frustrated and helpless.
He added, “The consequences of this fuel crisis are dire, with electricity supply remaining unreliable, prices soaring, and essential services paralyzed. Nigerian students, along with the rest of the population, are bearing the brunt of this crisis daily.
“We demand immediate actions from the NNPCL to resolve the fuel crisis and restore stability to our nation.”
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s ‘The Morning Brief breakfast programme’ on Monday, monitored by HMTV, the National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry, blamed the fuel scarcity across the country on a supply challenge from NNPC Limited.
Mr Gillis-Harry, who explained that the supply challenge has not been resolved, however, acknowledged the efforts by NNPC Ltd to solve the problem.
He said NNPC has its own outlets that they also serve.
“So, if they have some logistics issues, that will possibly be what is internal to NNPC. But as for us, PETROAN members, we can tell Nigerians for real that if we have petroleum products delivered to us, supplied to us upon payment for those same products, we will supply them to Nigerians.