Panic As Fresh Fuel Scarcity Hits Rivers

Indications of fuel scarcity with resultant queues have emerged in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital and other parts of the state.
Signs of the scarcity began to manifest since Saturday as a good number of filing stations in the city locked up their pumps and stopped selling products, thereby causing unusual panic among motorists and residents who use petrol and diesel to power their homes.
Some of the filling station attendants told The Tide that they were not selling because they had no product.
As at yesterday, the problem became more pronounced when virtually all filling stations in Ikwerre Road, especially within Diobu axis, Aba Road and Port Harcourt Old Township had no product.
Consumers concentrated on the few stations such as Oando and MRS along Aba Road.
When The Tide visited Oando, there was a long queue stretching from the station near Peoples Democratic party office to Federal Road Safety office (FRSC), on Aba Road.
At Total Filling station by Rumuola Junction on Aba Road, a similar scenario played out with queues stretching to Conoil filling station.
Black marketers had started making brisk business as they were buying from the Oando filing station and selling at road sides at higher prices.
However, at the filing stations that were selling, while some maintained the normal official price of N87.00 per litre of petrol, many others adjusted their pumps, and were selling at between N97 and N105 per litre.
The Tide gathered that the black marketers dealing on jerry cans were tipping the station attendants to sell to them.
In Etche Local Government Area and some other remote parts of the state, some filing stations had started reverting to the old price of N97.00 per litre, instead of N87.00 per litre while Black marketers sell between N130.00 and N150.00 per litre.
Consumers have started panic buying as they fear that the scarcity might become more serious in the covering days.
A marketer, who spoke to The Tide, said the devaluation of Naira has raised some fears amongst most of us who also import from outside the country”.
The marketer, who pleaded anonymity said, “a Dollar today exchanges for N200.00 and by the time you buy the Dollar at high exchange rate and come back to sell the product at same fixed price of N87.00 per litre, you might be running at a great loss”.
A taxi driver, who spoke to The Tide at Oando Oil Aba Road said, “There is scarcity already but I think it is artificial.
“I hope Nigerians are not subjected to the hardship associated with it”, he said, and appealed to Federal Government to nip it in the bud.

Chris Oluoh &Lydia William

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola (right), presenting a plaque to the President, Governing Council of Institute of Directors, Mrs Eniola Fadayomi, during a visit of the governing council to Governor Fashola in Lagos last Monday