…As Ekiti residents lament scarcity

BY Francis Akinnodi

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Non-availability of fuel, delay in loading and the refusal of the NNPCL to sell petrol to independent marketers have been listed as reasons many petrol stations were not dispensing fuel in Akure and its environs.

Many independent marketers in Ondo state particularly, the State capital has shut down operations due to high cost of doing business while those with fuel sold between N650 and N700 per litre.

The chairman of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Ore Depot, Shina Amoo who declared this in a chat with The Hope, said the independent marketers were not being encouraged by the NNPCL.

Amoo affirmed that their members do purchase fuel from third parties and were expected to sell at competitive price with major marketers.

He said: “When you pay on the NNPCL platform, you will not get your product in three months. 40 percent of our members are not ready for the business.

“Those who could not do the business are quitting. Others who remain are doing so minimally.

“More fuels are coming in but we need to be encouraged by the NNPCL so that we can sell like the major marketers.”

Meanwhile, residents of Ekiti State are going through difficult times due to scarcity of the Premium Motor Spirit, known as petroleum, in all the 16 local government areas of the state.

The few fuel stations dispensing the product have arbitrarily increased the price to between N680 and N750 per litre.

As of the time of filing this report, only few vehicles and transporters were plying the roads in Ado-Ekiti.

Most residents now rely on the use of motorcycle, popularly known as Okada, as means of transportation.

For instance, the Poly Road along the Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) axis that used to be a nightmare for residents due to traffic congestion, has been free since Tuesday morning when the fuel scarcity bagan to bite hard.

It was learnt that some petrol marketers who have the products deliberately refused to sell, thereby causing long queues in few places where the product is available. This has also been resulting in extortion of consumers.

Some marketers, who spoke to newsmen in confidence, said that they have not gone to buy fuel because of the possibility of Dangote refinery commencing sales of petrol.

According to them, they don’t want to take the risk of going to purchase fuel at the current pump price only for the Dangote fuel to arrive at a lower price.

They expressed their preference to wait and watch how things unfold in the coming weeks.

Residents who spoke to The Hope, lamented that they were at the receiving end of the various policies of government, wondering what the authority was doing to call the marketers to order.

A resident of Ado Ekiti, Kayode Ogunleye said that the situation in Ekiti had become unbearable, calling on the Task Force put in place by the state government to be alive to its responsibility.

Another resident and Okada rider, James Oguntuase, said he spent over four hours on Friday evening trying to buy some litres of fuel at N750.

He said that the marketers should be blamed for the current hardship.

However, some residents were of the view that the Petroleum Product Regulation and Consumer Protection Agency in Ekiti State, and the petroleum task force team have been ineffective.

They alleged that they have failed to act appropriately to address the situation.

They called on Governor Biodun Oyebanji to put the task force on their toes to do the needful.