Concerns As Fuel Price In Nigeria Hits N200/litre

Concerns have been raised as the price of Premium Motor Spirit popularly known as petrol, continues to increase across major cities.

Findings reveal that fuel is now sold at N200 per litre in many petrol stations across the country.

The lingering fuel scarcity has been condemned by commuters in Lagos and Ogun states who are now calling on the government to immediately address the issue.

Naija News understands that Nigerians have been bearing an unfriendly fuel pump price for months now. The hike had subsided a little earlier but some states are still experiencing the hardship at the very moment.

Residents of Lagos, Abuja and some states have over the past week cried out on the development. While the price remained so high, it was observed also that a number of filling stations in Lagos remained closed for business, apparently due to the unavailability of the product.

Also, the few outlets dispensing the product in the cities had long queues as motorists jostled to buy the product.

Due to the hike, transport fares have reportedly increased across various parts of Lagos, maintaining a 50 per cent hike due to the continued scarcity of PMS.

Some routes according to reports still witnessed hikes as high as 100 per cent.

Speaking with journalists earlier, a commercial transport operator who plies the Berger/Mowe route between Lagos and Ogun states said motorists were grappling with not only a significant increase in fuel price but also great difficulty in accessing the product.

He said, “It’s because of the price which we are buying. For more than a week, we’ve been buying fuel for N200/litre or almost N200/litre. Apart from the increase in price, we often suffer before we can buy. Many filling stations have closed for business. They refuse to sell even though we know some of them to have fuel. Every day, I spend hours before buying fuel.

“Passengers think we enjoy increasing our fares, but if we don’t increase, we won’t make any profit. Even with the increase, we are still not making what we make on a normal day, especially because of the time it takes to buy fuel.”

Also lamenting the situation, a passenger who identified herself as Ganiyat said the increase in the fares along the Berger/Ibafo axis was beginning to take a toll on the commuters.

According to her, the fuel scarcity had led to a scarcity of commercial buses, a situation which conventionally forces transport fares to go up.

“It is getting out of hand. I go from Ibafo to Lagos and back every day. Normally, I pay N200 from Berger to Ibafo, but ever since this fuel scarcity started, you have to make sure you come out with enough money because you don’t even know how much they are going to charge. Today, they are charging N500. On Saturday I paid N800 for a trip I normally pay N200,” she said.

However, Cyril Ukpor who resides at Iyana Ejigbo area of Lagos State told reporters that he bought fuel at N165/litre at one of the outlets of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in the area.

“I have been buying fuel for N200/litre. To me it is not really about the price, it is about the availability of the product. Let the product be readily available for us to buy. We know that whenever we start seeing long queues like this, it is an indication that they want to increase the pump price”, said a resident who gave her name as Blessing.