Despite the pump price hike, many motorists in Abuja have decried the petrol scarcity.

The motorists said on Tuesday in Abuja that the situation was frustrating and causing them severe hardship.

The hardship started with removing the fuel subsidy and was heightened by the recent increase in the fuel pump price.

The NNPC Retail Management had approved an upward review of the pump price from N617 per litre to N897 litre, effective September 3.

This is amid economic hardship and persistent fuel scarcity.

Checks revealed that the NNPC retail stations immediately adjusted their pumps and totems (price boards), reflecting the new petrol price of N897 against N617 per litre.

The independent marketers have also adjusted their pumps, now selling between N930 and N1,200.

As if the situation was not bad enough, the NNPCL effected another increase in the pump price of petrol from N987 to N1,030.

The increment was the second within a month.

The product had been scarce in the territory in the last four months.

Following the announcement of the hike in price, queues at the few filling stations dispensing the product had gotten longer.

The motorists expressed sadness about the situation, adding that Nigerians were yet to recover from the removal of fuel subsidy, and now they are faced with fuel hike.

According to them, this will undoubtedly increase the suffering of Nigerians and affect the prices of food items, which are beginning to drop.

They also said that the development had led to an increase in transportation fares.

Iliya Baba, a businessman, said he spent more than four hours in the queue to buy fuel despite the high cost of the product.

“Everything in this country now is stressful. With my hard-earned money, I cannot buy fuel without suffering. I don’t know where we are heading in this country; the government should bring back the subsidy because the poor are suffering, and some are dying.

“The hardship will encourage crime and make the environment unsafe,” Mr Baba said.

Mustapha Ali, a taxi driver, said that the fuel situation had become complicated due to the high fuel cost and scarcity.

“I run at a loss now. This is because I buy fuel at a high cost and still spend hours in the queue. How do I balance this? My family depends on my daily returns, and it has not been easy meeting up I do not know what to do.

“I am begging our president to do something fast about the suffering Nigerians are passing through as a result of this fuel issue, as it is not easy for a lot of us, please,” Mr Ali said.

A retiree, Stella Uzor, said the increase in fuel had led to an increase in transportation costs, which had led to an increase in prices of food items and school fees, among other things.

“I can no longer afford to feed my family members due to strained budgets. Yes, the minimum wage was increased, but it is nothing to write home about. It cannot still meet my needs because everything has gone up.

“Even at that, the minimum wage is yet to be paid to workers. The transportation within Abuja has increased, which makes movement very difficult. Foodstuff has increased so badly that we only feed once a day,” Ms Uzor lamented.

She urged the government to tackle the fuel issue in the country and make policies that would be favourable to the citizens.

However, Ukadike Chinedu, the publicity secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, said in an interview that fuel scarcity would soon be over.

Mr Chinedu said that the shifting of the supply chain was the cause of the scarcity in the country, adding that in a few weeks, the product would be available. 

(NAN)