The lingering fuel scarcity is biting harder in Kebbi and crippling socio-economic activities, as only a few filling stations sell petrol, mostly at exorbitant prices.

None of the filling stations in the state capital and its environs sells the product at the regulated price of N185, while the few stations that open for business sell at between N280 and N300 per litre.

The chairman, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Kebbi Central Motorpark (Sabuwar Tasha), Birnin Kebbi, Garba Dan-Malam, said the situation had become worrisome.

Mr Dan-Malam, who expressed optimism that the government would bring the situation under control, said the scarcity, which had been lingering for a while, had negatively affected his members.

The chairman said despite the increase in fuel price, transport fares charged by members of the union were reasonable.

He, however, lamented that union members were not happy with the current situation.

“As motorists, we are not only concerned with the high cost of fuel but also high costs of vehicle spare parts,” he said.

According to him, a tyre sold for N27,000 or N28,500 last year is now between N59,000 and N61,000.

On his part, a motorist, Aliyu Yusuf, lamented that the hike in fuel price had affected his monthly budget, saying that he had to cut down some expenses of less value to meet his fuel needs.

“The experience is actually terrible, buying fuel at the rate of N290 to N300; this is unacceptable; the government needs to do something urgently to address the situation for the good of Nigerians as well as the nation,” he said.

When contacted, the chairman, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), North-West zone, Muhammad Tila, blamed the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (NNPCL) for the lingering problem.

He said NNPCL was the only company responsible for importing fuel into the country, saying that many drivers used to spend seven to eight days in queues to lift the commodity to the north.

“The frustration is too much, sometimes they end up waiting in vain. As such, the last option is to buy the commodity from major marketers at an exorbitant price of N250 per litre and transport it to the North at the cost of N30 per litre.

“When we bring it here, we cannot sell it at N280, therefore, people should reason with us,” he noted.

The chairman recalled that the State Security Service (SSS) gave the stakeholders in the petroleum industry a 48-hour ultimatum, yet the fuel was not available, especially in the north.

Mr Tila said before, Nigeria used to have 10 to 20 ships on the sea waiting to offload, “but now you hardly see two ships on the shores of the Nigerian sea.”

He stressed the need for the government to allow private registered depots to import the commodity. 

(NAN)