- * Fighting And Disagreement Scenes Are Common Sights At Filling Stations That Have Supplies And Dispensing
- *Thugs Force Motorists To Pay Fees Before Being Allowed Into Filling Station To Queue For Fuel
Lagos residents have expressed dismay over what they described as “the failure of the authorities to speedily resolve the fuel crisis in the country”, a situation they said has adversely affected the socioeconomic wellbeing of Nigerians.
The Lagosians while reacting to the assurance that there is now sufficient quantity of the commodity to ease the scarcity, complained that although they were beginning to see more filling stations that have petrol, buying the commodity has been like a thug of way.
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Inspite of the assurance given to Nigerians that there is enough supply of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, widely known as fuel,the commodity has remained scarce in parts of Lagos Metropolis including Mazamaza, Mile Two , Agboju and Festac town , all in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area.
Consequently, the filling stations that have supplies and ready to sell to customers, have turned into war zones, with motorists and those that came with jericans ,fighting to buy fuel at all cost , amidst large crowds and long queues.
Scenes of customers fighting and disagreeing among themselves as well as with petrol attendants ,were common sights, as you hear in this sound bites, captured at the Mobil filling station, FESTAC First Gate on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway.
The situation was even more worrisome at some smaller filling stations, where motorists were forced by touts to pay certain amounts of money , before they were allowed to drive in to buy fuel.
However, despite the long queues , the cost of the commodity did not change much at the filling stations visited, as they were selling a litre of petrol #165 or a little above it, unlike the black marketers that were selling a litre of fuel for #500.
A resident, Mr. Israel Isiaka who noted that people in the area were going to as far as Oshodi to buy fuel, explained that following the scarcity of petrol, a lot of commercial motocylists had to stop work.
As a result of the scarcity and high cost of fuel, the cost of charging phones has increased by 100 percent; so also transportation.
Another resident said the continued difficulty in accessing fuel was having devastating consequences on families.
According to her, coupled with the blackout being experienced these days, people are passing through hell due to heat, just as they can no longer preserve their food.
Some other lagosians noted that they had expected the authorities to fix the problem long before now.
As at noon , fuel was mostly in the hands of black marketers who sold at between #300 and #500 per litre depending on locations.
A few of the black marketers alleged that it was difficult for them to see fuel to buy, adding that they would continue selling at high cost until they have sold off the ones they bought at the peak of the scarcity.
