Drivers, commuters groan as fuel scarcity bites harder

Commercial drivers and commuters have expressed their concerns as fuel scarcity has intensified to bite hard, saying the scramble to get fuel is grounding economic activities.

Daily Trust observed long queues at Northwest Petroleum Mega Stations along Gbagada – Oworonshoki Expressway, MRS filling station in Lagos- Ibadan expressway and Mobile filling station on Ahmadu Bello way in Victoria Island.

The long queues impeded the flow of traffic, leaving motorists to stay alongside the road, waiting in turn to buy fuel.

Daily Trust findings showed that some filling stations along Lagos- Abeokuta Expressway were deserted.

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In an interview with commercial drivers and commuters in Lagos, they lamented the situation, saying the country’s economic volatility is taking a toll on them.

Wisdom Igwe, a commercial driver blamed the increase of the transport fare to N1000 from N800 on the cost of fuel price, saying he bought 5 litres for N6500 from black market.

Michael Onyeoro said the struggle to get fuel denied him of the full amount of one trip he went on, saying passengers angrily came down when he turned to a filling station to get fuel.

“Only MRS sells from N680 and it has affected us because of this increase of transport fare, some passengers don’t have money and we try to encourage them. When I joined the long queue, all my passengers had to go down,” he said.

Commuters worry over hike in transport fare

Opeyemi Jamiu expressed sadness when he was told that Victoria Island to Iyana-Ipaja was N1,500, leaving him to decide to wait for a longer time.

“Things are not easy in Nigeria, the cost of transportation is high. My plan was that I will spend N1,500 from Eko Hotel to Alakuko but if I calculate well, I will spend N4,000 to and from.

Daily Trust reports that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has blamed the fuel scarcity on supply logistics and assured that the matter is being addressed.